By Jessica Fargen and Peter Gelzinis
Boston Herald
BOSTON — Vowing to bolster his department’s legitimacy in the eyes of the public, Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis is finalizing a new policy that allows him to fire any cop caught lying in the line of duty.
“This is a no-brainer - everybody understands truthfulness is fundamental to being a police officer,” Davis told the Herald in an interview Friday.
The policy comes in the wake of high-profile lying cases that have led to civil suits, tarnished the BPD’s reputation, left a trail of victims and undermined the department’s community standing.
Anyone caught lying on the job “is unable to perform significant responsibilities as a police officer,” Davis said. “I think the public needs to understand we take this seriously so that the level of trust in the department and the legitimacy of the department are improved.”
The proposed “bright line” policy would be one of the toughest in the nation and has riled at least one national union. Nonetheless, Davis said the effort has passed the city’s legal review and he hopes to implement it as soon as possible.
“It’s the right thing to do,” said Davis, who underscored that the policy would be a one-strike-and-you’re-out approach.
“It’s a hard process to implement,” he added.
Under the rule, which is now being reviewed by Boston police unions, the penalty for any police officer caught lying verbally or in a written report while working on the force would be termination, Davis said.
He said the firing would come only after an Internal Affairs probe determined that the officer lied.
Davis said he proposed the rule in the wake of the scandal involving former Boston cop Roberto “Kiko” Pulido and other rogue officers.
Pulido, who was sentenced to 26 years in prison on drug charges in 2008, ran a sex and drug den - frequented by cops - called the “Boom Boom Room.” A three-year probe led to the imprisonment of Pulido and three other cops, and disciplinary action against 11 cops for steroid use and lying.
The Pulido embarrassment was unfolding as Davis took the helm in December 2006. Other recent cases alleged to have involved police dishonesty include:
Last week, Army National Guardsman and Middlesex correction officer Michael O’Brien, 29, filed a federal lawsuit against the city alleging the BPD has failed to address a “code of silence” of lying within the department. O’Brien claims a beating by six Boston cops gave him a brain hemorrhage.
On Monday, Boston firefighter Wayne Abron was acquitted in a domestic assault case amid questions about whether two cops beat him and then lied about it.
In May, a federal judge concluded that Boston cop Rance Cooley falsely testified in a gun case. Internal affairs is investigating.
Rosemary Scapicchio, the attorney for Shawn Drumgold, whose murder conviction was overturned in 2003 after it was revealed that a Boston detective improperly gave a witness free hotel stays and food prior to trial, believes BPD has failed in the past to address the dishonesty problem.
“I don’t think they deal with it at all,” she said. The attorney hopes Davis’ plan could serve as a deterrent.
“There has to be some accountability or nothing is going to change,” said Scapicchio, who is trying Drumgold’s civil case against the police in federal court.
Peter Manning, Brooks professor of criminal justice at Northeastern University, called Davis’ plan to fire police officers for lying “very unusual,” but admirable. It’s a departure from the status quo at the BPD, in which police who lie receive “modest” suspensions, not always with loss of pay, he said.
But Davis’ plan is likely not practical in a union-dominated police culture that shuns internal written rules, Manning said. “It’s worthwhile exploring it, but I think it’s highly unlikely that something will go forward from it,” said Manning, who has written articles on police and lying. “I’d be extremely surprised if this were in any way acceptable to the unions.”
Indeed, one national police labor union slammed the idea.
“It’s a cop-out to suggest that there’s nothing they can do about it but fire people,” said Jim Pasco, executive director of the National Fraternal Order of Police, a union representing 327,000 officers and 2,300 local unions.
Pasco said a solution to lying is to step up screening for new officers. “People don’t become dishonest after they become police offiers,” said Pasco, a retired ATF agent. “A lot of the responsibility falls on police management to do a better job in recruiting.”
Thomas Nee, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, did not respond to two messages left Friday at the union office and two voice mails left on his cell phone.
Copyright 2009 Boston Herald