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BEHIND THE SHIELD

Amid a national reckoning over systemic abuses within law enforcement, the Globe dispatched a team to examine the criminal justice system in Massachusetts. Reporters exposed widespread officer misconduct, racism within the ranks, and coverups within some of the state's largest and most venerated police agencies. Read their work below.

Springfield narcotics detective acquitted of brutality charges, sparking anger and disappointment among civil rights groups
Gregg Bigda was acquitted of all criminal charges he faced in a Feb. 27, 2016, incident, which became a flashpoint for critics of Springfield’s police force and contributed to the Justice Department’s decision to open a civil rights investigation into the department’s narcotics unit.

Boston police give short suspension to sergeant who bragged about hitting George Floyd protesters with his vehicle

Clifton McHale was returned to active duty as a supervisor in the department’s court unit following the conclusion of an internal affairs investigation.

Dennis White

The Dennis White-Kim Janey legal standoff brings with it a host of questions

Boston Acting Mayor Kim Janey’s attempt to oust Police Commissioner Dennis White was thwarted for the time being last week, when White filed a request for a restraining order and preliminary injunction in Suffolk Superior Court to stop his removal.

White report triggers political fallout, criticism of past police scrutiny

Dennis White and Boston’s blue wall of silence are at the center of a crisis that could have been avoided

11 disturbing revelations in the investigative report on suspended BPD Commissioner Dennis White

Latest news

Janey fires Dennis White as Boston police commissioner
Acting Mayor Kim Janey fired Dennis White from his post as Boston’s police commissioner Monday and said he has been removed from the police force entirely. White had been on leave following the emergence of decades-old domestic abuse allegations.

The Dennis White saga: A list of all the players involved and what you should know about them
With so many fast-moving developments and complex relationships, here is a list of all the characters involved and the roles they played in the ugly legal and family drama involving suspended Boston Police Commissioner Dennis White.

Former wife of Boston Police Commissioner White speaks out as decision on his job looms
The ongoing legal and familial drama surrounding Boston Police Commissioner Dennis White and his effort to stay in his post continued to roil City Hall, as White’s ex-wife and younger daughter went public with fresh details of abuse they say White directed at them.

Boston police commissioner says he spoke repeatedly with Walsh about past troubles, claims former mayor knew of restraining order
Police Commissioner Dennis White, fighting for his job on the eve of a termination hearing, released a sworn statement in which he recounted telling former mayor Marty Walsh that he had been the subject of a restraining order when he was accused in the late 1990s of threatening to shoot his former wife. Acting Mayor Kim Janey said city authorities on Wednesday will hear what White has to say and take everything into account.

Contradiction by Gross of Walsh exposes a frayed relationship between a former mayor and police commissioner
The allegation, first disclosed last week in a failed court motion by William Gross’ successor Dennis White to thwart White’s firing as commissioner, raised new questions about what then-mayor Martin J. Walsh knew of White’s history of domestic violence allegations before he appointed him to lead the police force four months ago.

Appeals Court clears way for Acting Mayor Janey to fire Boston police commissioner
A Massachusetts court has denied Boston Police Commissioner Dennis White’s appeal of a ruling that would have cleared the way for his firing, meaning that Acting Mayor Kim Janey is now free to proceed with a hearing to terminate the city’s embattled top cop.

Domestic violence within the ranks: How recent allegations are shaking faith in BPD
A report investigating how Boston police handled past domestic violence allegations against Commissioner Dennis White vividly illustrated why many victims don’t trust the police, one specialist said.

Judge denies Boston Police Commissioner’s motion for injunction that would block his firing
A Suffolk Superior Court judge rejected Dennis White’s attempt to block his firing, a decision that clears the way for Acting Mayor Kim Janey to resume her effort to dismiss him following decades-old domestic violence allegations.

Walsh knew about Police Commissioner White’s internal affairs history, Gross says in affidavit
Former police commissioner William Gross said in an explosive court filing that former Boston mayor Marty Walsh knew about the domestic violence allegations against Dennis White when Walsh appointed him to lead the force. Walsh, however, said the allegations are false. The struggle over control of the department will continue Thursday morning in court.

Boston police sergeant arraigned on assault, battery charge
Sergeant Brian Dunford was arraigned in Quincy District Court on Tuesday, the Norfolk district attorney's office said.

Walsh back in the spotlight after critical report on Dennis White appointment
As the city absorbs and responds to the report by attorney Tamsin Kaplan, numerous critics say it provides fresh evidence that former mayor Marty Walsh failed to fully investigate White’s background.

White report triggers political fallout, criticism of past police scrutiny
The release of the findings of an outside investigation into the decades-old domestic violence allegations against suspended police commissioner Dennis White triggered a flood of reactions from community and political leaders, who questioned how White was able to rise through police ranks and head the nation’s oldest police force.

Police data

A database of 10 years of Boston Police disciplinary action

The City of Boston does not provide a comprehensive, transparent system that allows residents to keep tabs on its police. So the Globe decided to create its own searchable database.

More than 30 Boston officers made over $300,000 last year

Amid sustained calls for police reform, marches demanding an end to systemic racism, and an uptick in street violence, over 30 Boston police officers made more than $300,000 last year thanks in part to overtime earnings that yet again exceeded what the city had budgeted for the year. By contrast, the mayor makes $199,000.

Who are the top paid police officers in Boston, and how much do they make in overtime?

These graphics break down the Boston Police Department's salaries.

Boston Police

Behind the shield: Inside the Boston Police Department

Within Boston police, more often white officers win the awards and Black officers get punished

Black officers in the Boston Police Department are less likely to be honored for exemplary work and more likely to be disciplined than their white colleagues, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis of a decade of police commendations and misconduct.

Boston is set to consider wide scale police reforms. But many of them have been pitched before

As Mayor Marty Walsh awaits final proposals from the Boston Police Reform Task Force — which he commissioned in June following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police — the city's legacy of task force inaction demonstrates how often good intentions have been left by the wayside.

Mayor’s task force issues sweeping Boston police reform recommendations

A task force appointed by Mayor Martin J. Walsh is recommending the city create an independent office to investigate police misconduct, as part of a series of broader reforms to the city’s police department, according to the group’s draft report.

Within the Boston Police Department, complaints against officers are rarely confirmed or result in punishment

Police data provide a sweeping look at the hundreds of allegations lodged each year against officers — and show how rarely the more than 2,000 members of the department are disciplined.

A 2015 audit of the BPD turned up various issues with the department’s overtime system. Were any of them corrected?

Boston police once resembled the community. But force has grown whiter as city becomes more diverse

When it comes to Boston Police reforms, unions are often the sticking point

‘The avatar of cop violence in Boston’: Police captain routinely crosses line, activists say

Boston’s highest-paid worker: a cop accused of payroll abuse in 2007

Prosecutors

‘In the dark.’ Suffolk DA Rollins wants more information on troubled Boston officers

The Boston Police Department has been slow to hand over information about which officers its own internal affairs department has found to have lied or broken the law.

Suffolk DA Rollins releases watch list of 136 area officers accused of misconduct

The database contains 70 State Police troopers, 54 Boston police officers, and a handful of officers from Revere, Chelsea, and Transit Police.

The 7 minutes of chaos and confusion that led to the police shooting of Juston Root

A vast trove of documents recently released to the Globe provide the fullest picture yet of the frantic events leading up to Juston Root’s death, and make it clear how murky the circumstances remain.

Help us hold law enforcement accountable

Share your experience and story. Have you filed a complaint against an officer? Tell us how it went. Do you know more about any of these cases we highlighted? Are there other incidents we should look at? Let us know.

Database: 10 years of Boston Police disciplinary action

Boston police awards and discipline

Misconduct allegations filed against BPD officers

Highest paid Boston police officers

Examine Boston police overtime spending

Explore race/ethnicity/gender breakdown of BPD officers

State Police

Dozens of State Police troopers remain on the force despite past illegal conduct

A Globe review of the department’s internal affairs files shows the agency rarely fires troopers almost no matter what they have done. The Globe found only a handful of examples of firings in the last decade.

State Police uncovered more trooper payroll issues last year. This time, they kept it in-house

Sergeant Mark Lynch’s case raises questions about how seriously the department handles pay abuse and how many other troopers may have escaped sanctions.

State Police lieutenant, a top earner, retires amid internal probe into paid detail violation

Mark Lombardi, a 27-year veteran, said that because he is a high-earner, he has faced constant internal scrutiny. He denied his retirement was related to the internal State Police review.

State Police lost thousands of e-mails related to trooper overtime fraud case

An attorney for a former Massachusetts State Police lieutenant charged with overtime pay fraud says the law enforcement agency has lost tens of thousands of e-mails related to the high-profile criminal case.

Other Law Enforcement

Body camera program brings unease for Mass. police, and, perhaps, a new age of accountability

Amid a national reckoning over systemic police abuses and growing demands for reform, the calls for cameras, which provide an unvarnished account of police actions, have only intensified. Recent deaths illustrate promise, shortcomings of use so far.

Prisons chief said order halting guards’ discipline was news to her. E-mails say otherwise

E-mails show Commissioner Carol Mici was in the loop as the policy was hatched and received multiple messages about suspending employee discipline during the pandemic.

Lax management, pay irregularities rampant at state’s Environmental Police force, report says

“This is not the first time that the agency has been called out for its lax practices,” Auditor Suzanne M. Bump said.

OPinion

EDITORIAL

Qualified progress on qualified immunity

State commission recommends some worthy reforms, but punts on larger question of whether to change controversial rule that shields police officers from legal liability for abuse.

Did a Boston cop participate in the Jan. 6 attack?

It’s been more than a year since the failed uprising against American democracy, but the police department hasn’t yet wrapped up its inquiry into whether one or more BPD officers were among the insurrectionists.

To ‘serve and protect’ means getting the vaccine

Public safety unions should be ashamed for pushing back on the Boston vaccine mandate.

‘People’s house’ still shuttered, but crucial work lies ahead

The Legislature left a heap of unfinished business for 2022, with voting reforms topping the list.

Mayor Wu has right idea on dealing with violence, police, and responses to emergencies

Real police reform in Boston starts now

Biden said police shouldn’t have weapons of war. Why hasn’t he taken action?

Another trial, another ‘litmus test’ that America is destined to fail

Police reform meets harsh realities of McHale case

The Department of Justice must be tougher on law enforcement

Restoring informed and civil debate on college campuses

Boston faces its own monumental reckoning on race

Reimagining Boston’s ‘other’ police force

Glimmers of progress on police reform