Acting Mayor Kim Janey fires Boston Police Commissioner Dennis White ‘effective immediately’

Acting Mayor Kim Janey has informed embattled police Commissioner Dennis White she has fired him, she said at an afternoon press conference.

Janey said White has been fired, “effective immediately.”

Janey says she made her decision “after carefully considering” the results of an independent investigation into multiple allegations of domestic violence against Dennis wife, which Janey points out White did not cooperate with.

Reaction from White and his lawyer was swift and promised an extended legal battle.

In a statement, White’s attorney Nick Carter said, “Commissioner White is deeply disappointed by Acting Mayor Janey’s decision. He is a Black  man, falsely accused of crimes, not given a fair trial or hearing, and then convicted, or  terminated which is the equivalent here.”

“Dennis White intends to amend his Complaint to assert civil rights claims,” Carter said, “to recover for his own losses and to send a message that this kind of unlawful and harmful treatment must not be allowed to happen again to anyone.”

Janey’s decision comes after she held a pre-termination hearing last week at City Hall. The acting mayor had said she wanted to move in a different direction after it emerged that past allegations of domestic abuse had been made against White. White denies the accusations, saying instead that in fact he’s a victim of domestic assault.

White was placed on leave just two days after former Mayor and now U.S. Labor Secretary Martin Walsh appointed him to the job in February. Walsh made the move after allegations surfaced that White had abused his ex-wife.

The 1990s-era abuse claims were investigated by the Boston Police Department internal affairs division at the time but never resulted in any charges or discipline. White has denied the allegations, claiming in court filings it was he who was a victim of abuse at the hands of his former wife, who was also a Boston Police officer.

White’s predecessor, former Police Commissioner William Gross — who recommended White for the job — in a signed court affidavit filed with White’s suit, claimed he and then-commissioner William Evans in 2014 personally reviewed the internal affairs reports of Dennis White and briefed the former mayor. Walsh however denies knowing anything about the allegations.

Janey initially moved to fire White more than three weeks ago.

But the embattled police commissioner filed suit against Janey and the city, seeking an injunction to prevent her from making the move.

The injunction was denied, setting into motion last week’s termination hearing and Monday’s decision.

White is expected to file a wrongful termination suit against the city.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3w0FKlz