The terminated officer allegedly tried to interfere with
drug arrests in Braintree.
The Civil Service Commission last week denied the appeal of
a Braintree police officer who was fired for allegedly trying to interfere with
drug and drunk driving arrests.
In a decision issued Thursday upholding the town's
termination of Paul Venuto in April 2012, Commissioner Cynthia Ittleman said
the firing was justified because of Venuto's "serious misconduct,"
but also criticized the Braintree Police Department for allowing the incidents
to go unreported for nearly three years.
Two separate incidents in 2008 and 2009, involving Venuto
placing himself in the middle of a drug arrest and an OUI and cocaine arrest,
were not officially examined until August 2011, when an alleged domestic
dispute between Venuto and his girlfriend prompted then Chief Paul Frazier to
order an internal investigation into Venuto's conduct.
Venuto was subsequently placed on administrative leave until
Mayor Joseph Sulivan notified him by letter on April 2, 2012 that he was being
terminated for engaging in conduct unbecoming an officer, undue influence, and
interfering with the Course of Justice.
Several officers were aware of Venuto's attempted
interference in the two arrests, Ittleman wrote in the decision, but did not
report it as required under the department's regulations.
