Trooper who fought rewrite of police report wins $40,000 — and an apology
A trooper has won an apology from the head of the State Police and $40,000 for being forced to rewrite an arrest report of a judge’s daughter, which led to the Troopergate scandal and retirements of several top cops.
Trooper Ryan Sceviour has been “fully vindicated,” his lawyer said.
“Ryan Sceviour is a hero. He stood up for honesty in the face of illegal orders,” said attorney Leon Kesten. “He’s still keeping us safe and it’s shameful the way they treated him.”
Col. Kerry Gilpin, head of the Massachusetts State Police, said in a letter of apology obtained by the Herald that, “Independent investigators retained by the Massachusetts State Police concluded that your report … was fully ‘consistent with your training and experience and reflected reasonable professional judgment.’
“As concluded by the Independent Investigators,” Gilpin added, “you acted appropriately at all times during the arrest and investigation at issue.
“I look forward to your continued commitment to the Department of State Police and the valuable public safety mission you perform on a daily basis,” Gilpin said, adding she “wished” Sceviour “success and safety” on patrol.
Kesten told the Herald Friday night the state paid $35,000 and the Worcester District Attorney’s Office paid $5,000.
Worcester DA Joseph Early Jr. did not issue an apology.
Sceviour’s lawsuit filed in Suffolk Superior Court stated Early “initiated and directed” the plot to change the arrest report of Alli Bibaud, daughter of Dudley District Court Judge Timothy Bibaud, in October 2017. After being pulled over for drunken driving, Alli Bibaud — whose father previously worked under Early — reportedly told Sceviour she had traded sex for heroin, which he noted in his report.
But Early told State Police Col. Richard McKeon — a friend of his — that scrubbing those references from the report was “the appropriate thing to do,” according to an investigation by Attorney General Maura Healey.
Sceviour was ultimately ordered to revise the previously approved report. McKeon and other top cops retired after news of the revision became public. Healey’s investigation did not recommend criminal charges.
Early was accused of violating Sceviour’s constitutional rights, conspiracy, defamation and inflicting emotional distress.
In the months to come, the State Police were also rocked by an overtime scandal that has resulted in charges being brought against more than 40 troopers — some who have already pleaded guilty.
The force has also been tarnished by charges brought against a trooper accused who allegedly exposed himself this past June at a country music concert at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. Trooper Andrew Patterson, 32, of Lynn, is accused of masturbating in front of a woman and punching her boyfriend in the face at a Luke Bryan concert June 21, according to a Foxboro Police report and criminal complaint. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Wrentham District Court on Nov. 8.
Another trooper is accused of shooting an ATV driver after a chase that ended on the Southeast Expressway in February 2018. That trooper, Matthew Sheehan, has pleaded not guilty.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2Wz9MvX
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