Report: Massachusetts troopers who commit crime rarely fired - pressherald.com

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BOSTON — A Massachusetts trooper led fellow officers on a chase and had to be subdued, another took cash under the table for unauthorized police escorts for funeral processions and yet another partied in Las Vegas with people connected to organized crime.

None of them were fired.

The Boston Globe reported Sunday that its review of internal affairs files shows troopers are rarely fired, almost no matter what they have done.

All told, dozens of troopers who are still on the force despite having broken the law collectively have 29 sustained charges for assault and battery; 19 alcohol and drug violations, including four drunken driving arrests; 17 charges for harassment, including three for sexual harassment; and another 17 for improperly using the state’s criminal background check system, the Globe reported.

The office of Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan, whose jurisdiction covers State Police headquarters and other barracks, said it has not received a referral from State Police since she took office in 2013.

A spokesperson for Attorney General Maura Healey called the information “highly concerning” and said it “erodes public trust” in law enforcement.

State Police Col. Christopher Mason declined to discuss the Globe’s review of internal investigations. Recordkeeping on internal investigations was sloppy and incomplete, and the records themselves closely guarded from public view, the newspaper reported.

Former Massachusetts inspector general Gregory Sullivan said there should be no double standard “that allows police officers to get away with alleged criminal activity by virtue of the supervisors and administrators keeping it secret.”

“That is plain wrong. It’s a disservice to the public and it’s unfair,” he said.

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