2023 Community Leadership Award Recipient
The Community Leadership Award is presented to an individual who, based on his/her activities, has made fundamental and lasting contributions to human rights and to the advancement of social, economic, and political justice for all people, serving as a model of high moral qualities or ideals, or greatness of character.
Detective Larry E. Ellison, past MAMLEO president of a decade, is a Boston Police Detective assigned to the School Police Unit. He celebrated 35 years of service as a detective to the City of Boston this year. He is the BPD’s longest tenured active detective and was presented with detective’s badge number 1 in February. Detective Ellison began his career with the BPD as a police cadet in 1983. He became a sworn officer in 1985 and, three years later attained the rank of detective, a position he has occupied and served the residents of Boston since 1988.
During his tenure in law enforcement, Detective Ellison has worked in multiple assignments throughout the BPD including: Area E, Area B, Drug Control Unit, Area D, Recruit Investigations, and the School Police Unit where he has been assigned for the past 15 years.
Larry is a Commissioner for the statewide Police Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST), a newly formed commission as a result of Massachusetts robust police reform legislation.
While President of MAMLEO, Larry led many initiatives to hold police agencies across Massachusetts accountable for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. He spearheaded and worked with MAMLEO’s legal partners to file successful lawsuits that have yielded significant changes to policing policies across the state. Larry also worked in close collaboration with lawmakers to advise and implement socially just policing policies for Massachusetts.