Mass law enforcement misconduct news, July 27-Aug. 2
Court decision overturning man’s Boston murder conviction upheld, former postal inspector pleads guilty to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars, and more
Here are the media reports of alleged law enforcement misconduct in Massachusetts that I’ve tracked during the last week.
State and local
- “Lawyers for the four state troopers facing manslaughter charges in the death of Enrique Delgado-Garcia are seeking extensive records pertaining to command staff including text messages of the colonel and other top officials. The lawyers, who appeared in Worcester Superior Court briefly July 28 along with the highest-ranking official charged, Lt. Jennifer Penton, argued in court papers that they are entitled to the communications to examine why others above Penton were not charged.” (Telegram & Gazette; paywalled)
- “The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office created a misconduct disclosure about a Brockton police lieutenant [Matthew Graham] more than two years after a Massachusetts judge found that the officer made ‘materially false’ statements in a sworn affidavit when applying for a search warrant a decade ago.” (Mass Dump)
Andrew Quemere
- “The Massachusetts police oversight board suspended a state trooper’s law-enforcement certification after he was charged with stealing a Bobcat bucket-loader vehicle from a contractor he hired to remove fallen trees from his property in Palmer, records say. Joseph W. Franklin was charged with two felonies—larceny over $1,200 and intimidating a witness, juror, police officer, or court official—on July 2 after a probable-cause hearing, according to court records.” (Mass Dump)
Andrew Quemere
- “The state’s highest court on [July 28] affirmed a judge’s decision [from 2025] to grant a new trial to Stephen Pina, a Boston man who has been fighting his murder conviction for more than 30 years. The SJC ruling upheld [the] decision by Superior Court Judge Peter B. Krupp that Pina, who has long maintained he was misidentified by witnesses in a 1996 murder case, deserved a new trial following the emergence of new and previously suppressed evidence by [Boston] police and prosecutors.” (Boston Globe; paywalled)
- “Following weeks of escalating conflict between the Stoughton town manager and police chief, the town’s Select Board placed both on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into harassment and other charges levied against them. … The investigations will look into allegations of misconduct by Police Chief Donna McNamara ‘involving internal personal management’ and separate allegations of ‘harassment and mistreatment’ the chief levied against Town Manager Thomas Calter, the board stated.” (Boston Herald)
Federal
- “A Kenyan woman here seeking asylum who has a work permit, a driver’s license and no criminal record was grabbed at Logan Airport before she could get on a domestic flight [on July 25], then tossed into the windowless, bedless, one-toilet holding cell at ICE’s Burlington garrison, which is not designed for long-term stays. … On [July 25], US District Court Judge Leo Sorokin ordered her freed immediately.” (Universal Hub)
- “A former U.S. postal inspector from Pembroke pleaded guilty to dozens of charges he faced related to a theft of more than $330,000 in cash from packages mailed by elderly victims of lottery scams. Scott Kelley, 52, pleaded guilty July 29 to 44 counts of a 45-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Boston.” (Patriot Ledger)
Other news
Brookline police charge elderly woman with felony vandalism for “Free Palestine” sticker (Brookline.News)
I missed this one last week:
An 80-year-old woman who has become one of Brookline’s most recognizable pro-Palestinian activists has been charged with vandalism after police allege she placed a “Free Palestine” sticker on the front window of Michael’s Deli in May.
Susan E-Hornfeldt, who sometimes goes by Susan Etscovitz, is charged with defacing or damaging property, a felony. She is set to be arraigned in Brookline District Court on August 12.
Stoughton police chief says in lawsuit that town manager asked her to destroy info about Sandra Birchmore case (NBC10 Boston)
Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara on [July 27] filed a civil lawsuit claiming the town and its manager breached their contract in their effort to force her out. …
McNamara mentioned the [Sandra] Birchmore case in her lawsuit, saying [Town Manager Thomas] Calter had told her to destroy a second internal investigation about the case. She also said in the lawsuit that, [in August], she’d told Calter she'd been cooperating with the FBI’s Birchmore investigation.
Abington police officer placed on non-“punitive” leave after teen dies in car chase (Boston.com)
An Abington police officer was placed on administrative leave after pursuing a reported stolen SUV that crashed [July 29], killing the 17-year-old driver and hospitalizing four teenage passengers, authorities said. …
[Abington Police Chief John] Bonney explained … that placing an officer on administrative leave after a pursuit that ends in a fatal crash is more of a standard procedure for the investigation, emphasizing the leave was not based on a “punitive issue.”
New state law bans cops, coaches, and teachers from having sex with minors (Republican)
[In July], Gov. Maura Healey signed a law that makes it illegal for adult mandated reporters — a category that includes teachers, police officers, coaches and social workers — to have sexual contact with anyone under 18.
The age of consent is 16 in the state, and previously without an explicit carve out, a “loophole” made it lawful for those adults to have sexual relationships with 16- and 17-year-olds.
Littleton says Flock reactivated license-plate readers with no notice after town shut them off (Lowell Sun)
Officials claim that five of Littleton’s Flock Safety cameras were switched back on by the company without informing the town after the town temporarily disabled the cameras earlier this year.
In a statement [on July 30], the town said Select Board Chair Gary Wilson had requested that the Littleton Police Department access the automatic license plate reading cameras to verify their status. In doing so [the morning of July 30], police found that five of the town’s six cameras had been reactivated by Flock “with no notification to the town.”
House-Senate compromise bill would let Department of Correction continue working with ICE (State House News Service)
Negotiators also settled another divide over 287(g) agreements which authorize state or local law enforcement agencies to perform certain federal immigration enforcement actions.
The House bill would have allowed a limited pathway for new criminal-purpose agreements with state approval. The Senate version prohibited all new, expanded or renewed agreements.
According to the conferees, the compromise adopts the Senate’s approach by prohibiting new agreements while preserving the Department of Correction's longstanding 287(g) partnership with ICE.
As I’ve written about before, Governor Maura Healey could end the agreement between the DOC and ICE, but she supports it.
Andrew Quemere
Proposed shield law for Massachusetts journalists doesn’t go far enough (Media Nation)
The Massachusetts Senate has passed a shield law that would give journalists some protection from having to identify their confidential sources,reports Matt Stout … in The Boston Globe. But it’s not clear how much the measure would actually accomplish.
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That’s all for now.
Someone please adopt this beautiful baby.
— Andrew Quemere (@andrewqmr.bsky.social) August 2, 2026 at 4:10 PM
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