MOVES A TRANSPARENT CASE OF DAMAGE CONTROL BY GOV
Gov. Charlie Baker’s shake-up of the state police, including the dramatic elimination of Troop E, will likely calm the political firestorm around the scandal-ridden law enforcement authority — at least for now.
Baker has been under intense fire from his Democratic gubernatorial opponents — and even the state’s attorney general — over the last few weeks as new scandals unfolded at the state police, including the announcement that 30 current and retired troopers were under investigation for allegedly filing false time reports.
The moves yesterday to reform the police agency are an attempt at damage control, with Baker himself taking the lead role in announcing the changes.
The governor noted pointedly that a “series of recent incidents has sadly tarnished the depart-
ment’s trust with the public.”
The bad news for Baker is that the series of “incidents” happened under his watch. That fact has been noted numerous times by Democrats who are eager to capitalize on the scandals. The incidents include:
• At least 30 troopers allegedly falsifying their time reports, putting in for shifts they didn’t work.
• Disclosures that Troop F had been hiding their payroll information for years.
• A Herald report detailing how eight troopers in Troop F took home at least $1 million in regular pay and overtime since 2014.
• The “Troopergate” scandal, where senior state police commanders forced troopers to alter the alleged drunken-driving arrest report of a judge’s daughter. That “incident” triggered an investigation by the attorney general and the resignation of the state’s top cop, Col. Richard McKeon.
• An internal affairs investigation into how state police hired and promoted a trooper who was an admitted drug dealer and money launderer.
• An investigation into a state trooper’s shooting of a man, and the trooper’s posts on social media.
Baker’s move to take action yesterday comes just days after Attorney General Maura Healey took a verbal blast at Baker, saying he “needs to take a leadership role” on the phantom shift scandal.
“This is a matter of transparency, accountability,” Healey said.
Baker used those exact same words yesterday, saying the moves he’s making were designed to restore “transparency” at the state police.
Baker’s Democratic opponents have lobbed even harsher criticism, with former Newton Mayor Setti Warren calling on the Legislature to appoint an independent commission to look at all the problems in the state police.
“Each time Gov. Baker has claimed surprise and then promised to get to the bottom of it, but each time, nothing happened,” Warren said last week.
Baker’s decision to take action could at least allow him to say he’s taking the reins and working to “restore” public trust in the police.
But that will only last until the next scandal comes along.