City’s scrutiny of police conduct questioned; Judge allows suit claiming bad behavior unpunished

The Boston Globe reports on a recent court decision that reveals that the Boston Police Department does not properly investigate allegations of misconduct. Most troubling is the failure of the Boston Police Department to investigate when a prosecutor forwarded an audio recording of officer Paul Murphy threatening to beat a man to “within an inch of his life.” Boston’s Internal Affairs officers never bothered to question officer Murphy about the recording. Failing to take an action on this complaint signals that complaints by ordinary civilians who do not have recordings are not going to be properly investigated.

Internal affairs records are considered confidential by the City. This case shows that the City keeps this material from the public because the truth is embarrassing. It is time to make these records public. People who live and work in the City of Boston have a right to a properly run police department. This means the department must effectively discipline its police officers when they violate the constitutional rights of others.

Read the judge’s decision here.