Code of Massachusetts Regulations
555 CMR - PEACE OFFICER STANDARDS AND TRAINING COMMISSION
Title 555 CMR 9.00 - Initial Certification of Officers; and Renewed Certification of Independently Applying Officers
Section 9.02 - Definitions

(1)555 CMR 9.00 incorporates all definitions and rules of construction set forth in 555 CMR 2.02: Definitions and 2.03: Construction, except those definitions of terms that are defined in 555 CMR 9.02(2).

(2) For the purposes of 555 CMR 9.00, the following terms have the following meanings, unless the context requires otherwise:

Agency. An "agency" as defined in M.G.L. c. 30A, § 1.

Applicant. An individual who submits, or intends to submit, an application to the Commission.

Application. A request by an individual to be certified as an officer.

Arrest. An actual or constructive seizure or detention of a person, performed with the intention to effect an arrest and so understood by the person detained. For purposes of applying this definition, the following shall constitute seizures: an application, to the body of a person, of physical force that objectively manifests an intent to restrain; a show of authority, through words or conduct, that a reasonable person would consider coercive; and an exercise of official powers that is facilitated by the use or display of a weapon.

Authority. An individual's appointing authority or employer; the Civil Service Commission; any arbitrator or other third-party neutral with decision-making power; and any court.

Certification. An initial certification or a recertification of an individual as an officer pursuant to M.G.L. c. 6E, §§ 3(a) and 4, or pursuant to St. 2020, c. 253, § 102, regardless of whether it is subject to any condition, limitation, restriction, or suspension.

Certification Period. The period of time between the effective date and the expiration date of an individual's certification, including any period of continuation provided for under M.G.L. c. 30A, § 13 or 555 CMR 9.03 beyond the reference date.

Commission. The Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission established under M.G.L c. 6E, § 2 as an agency, including its Commissioners and its staff.

Conditional Certification. A certification of the type described in 555 CMR 9.09.

Decertification or Revocation of Certification. A revocation of certification by the Commission pursuant to M.G.L. c. 6E, §§ 3(a) and 10, an action distinct from a denial, a nonrenewal, an expiration, or a suspension of certification.

Denial of Certification. A Commission action declining to grant or renew a certification, made pursuant to M.G.L. c. 6E, §§ 3(a) and 4, an action distinct from a revocation or a suspension of certification.

Division. The Division of Police Certification established pursuant to M.G.L. c. 6E, § 4.

Endorsed Applicant. An applicant whose application is endorsed or supported by an endorsing law enforcement agency.

Endorsing Law Enforcement Agency. A law enforcement agency that is a current or prospective employer of an applicant and endorses or supports the applicant's application.

Executive Director. The Executive Director of the Commission appointed pursuant to M.G.L. c. 6E, § 2(g), or that person's designee for relevant purposes.

Final Decision. The ultimate Commission decision on an application for certification, following any review or hearing or the expiration of the time afforded for an applicant to seek such review or hearing, and following the satisfaction of any conditions attached to a conditional certification or the expiration of the time to satisfy any such conditions, and thus not including a decision granting a conditional certification.

Full Certification. A certification granted for three years pursuant to M.G.L. c. 6E, § 4(f)(3), without any condition, limitation, restriction, or suspension imposed pursuant to M.G.L. c 6E, § 3(a) or another provision.

Good Character and Fitness for Employment. "Good moral character and fitness for employment in law enforcement," as that phrase is used in M.G.L. c. 6E, § 4(f)(1)(ix).

Independent Applicant. An individual who submits, or intends to submit, an application to the Commission without the endorsement of an endorsing law enforcement agency.

Law Enforcement Agency. A "law enforcement agency" as defined in M.G.L. c. 6E, § 1.

MPTC. The Municipal Police Training Committee within the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, as established in M.G.L. c. 6, § 116.

Professional Reference. An individual who is personally familiar with an applicant's work as an officer or an applicant's qualifications to serve as an officer, has no familial relation to the applicant, and voluntarily agrees to provide the Commission with information regarding the applicant.

Reference Date. The end date for an applicant's certification provided for in St. 2020, c. 253, § 102 or the end date of a prior certification issued to an applicant by the Commission, whichever is later, without regard to any period of continuation provided for by M.G.L. c. 30A, § 13 or 555 CMR 9.03.