Quincy Police Chief Says Cop’s reassignment not retaliation for public disloyalty

[Ian David]

Quincy detective bounced back to a beat; Cop’s reassignment not retaliation for public disloyalty, chief says

By JOHN P. KELLY
The Patriot Ledger

QUINCY - The city’s longest-serving police patrolman, who last week led a standing police ovation in support of the ouster of embattled Chief Robert Crowley, has been abruptly dismissed from the department’s detective unit.

In what’s being interpreted as retaliation for public disloyalty to the chief, Detective Robert Curtis was told late last week to ‘‘leave voluntarily or we’re going to kick you out,’’ said Bruce Tait, who represents Curtis as head of the police patrolmen’s union.

Curtis, a 34-year veteran who wears badge No. 1 as its senior patrol officer, was among 50 off-duty officers who clamored against Crowley during a city council subcommittee meeting Feb. 26.

During fiery testimony that night, Tait accused the chief of lying to city councilors in December about patrol levels and depicted police morale as battered.

<snip>


Chief Crowley - Was criticized at city council hearing

‘‘Here we go again, down the road to another multi-thousand-dollar lawsuit, another black eye for the department, another black eye for the city,’’ Raymondi said.

In September, the city agreed to pay $550,000 to Lt. John McDonough, who was stripped of his command of the department’s drug unit by former Police Chief Thomas Frane after he helped expose sexual discrimination in the police department.

Parallels are also being drawn to a lawsuit in Brockton that was settled in 2004. In that case, Brockton officer Thomas Enos won a $275,000 settlement from the city after claiming he was demoted for supporting a political opponent of Mayor John T. Yunits Jr. in 1999.

More:
http://www.patriotledger.com/articles/2007/03/08/news/news04.txt