The Boston PD knew in the mid 90s that Pat Rose committed sexual assault against a child. But the department did not fire him. He accumulated power and eventually became the head of the BPD union. Meanwhile, he assaulted children for another 20+ years. http://bos.gl/FPmFSjh 

The Boston Globe filed a records request to learn about the cover up inside the department. The BPD refused to hand over records, and Mayor Walsh backed them on that even after the secretary of state’s office told the cops to disclose them.

Mayor Janey told the Globe this kind of misconduct won’t be tolerated on her watch. But the department continues to refuse to release the records. The mayor should order them released.

What does the BPD have to say for itself? Among other things, the department claims it didn’t have the power to fire Rose even though the department concluded he had committed sexual abuse of a child. If that’s true, it’s only because the union contract makes it hard to fire cops

What union is that? That’s the BPPA—the very union accused child rapist and former cop Pat Rose led for years. The city is currently negotiating that contract. Another thing Mayor Janey can do is fight to fix the contract so the department can fire cops who do terrible things.

I’m struck reading this horrifying story by the fact that the police tell lawmakers we should trust them with so much power and surveillance technology, but the department won’t even hold accountable a cop who rapes children.

Some people will say this was a long time ago. First of all, it wasn’t. The cop was accused of more child rape recently. Second, the department’s cover up continues, meaning the rot that enabled this tragic abuse is still festering in BPD leadership.

At minimum the mayor should release the records, fix the union contract, hire a law firm to do an investigation, and publish that investigation so everyone can see exactly who knew what, when, and what they did about it. This is completely unacceptable and appalling.