Massachusetts police misconduct database sheds light on discipline used by agencies

More than a quarter of the cops whose disciplinary records are listed in a state database received a suspension of between one and five days for their misconduct, according to data released Tuesday.

The disciplinary records database maintained by the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission details thousands of allegations of misconduct against officers, the disciplinary outcomes, and some details of the incidents.

It offers a first glimpse at the backgrounds of local police officers and allows the public to scrape data to glean more information on bad behavior dating back to December 1984 through Jan. 31.

Roughly 17% of police officers listed in the database received a written reprimand for their alleged misconduct. Another 12% got a written warning or letter of counseling and just over 9% were subject to retraining, according to the database.

Less than 1% of officers in the database were demoted or offered a last chance agreement and just over 5% were handed a suspension of between six and 29 days.

Half of the law enforcement agents in the database were accused of some form of conduct unbecoming of an officer. Roughly 2% of officers were accused of using excessive, non-deadly force, according to the database.

The oldest record in the database is linked  a Massachusetts State Police troper who was charged with “conduct unbecoming” related to an incident on Dec. 14, 1984. That trooper’s policing license is listed as “certified” and the discipline related to the incident is categorized as “other.”

The newest disciplinary record in the database is linked to an officer from the Orange Police Department related to an Jan. 30 incident when the officer was not “fully accurate in a police report and use of force report,” according to the database. That officer received between a one and five day suspension.

A Douglas Police Department Officer was accused of conduct unbecoming of an officer, including “courtesy” and “professional image,” according to the database. The incident date is listed as Jan. 25 and the officer received between a one and five day suspension.

A Royalston Police Officer was also accused of conduct unbecoming of an officer from an incident on Jan. 25. The database said the officer had an “unprofessional verbal interaction” and received a written reprimand.

The Massachusetts State Police have the most disciplinary records in the database followed by the Springfield Police Department and the Boston Police Department. The trio are among the largest law enforcement agencies in the state.