Boston

Boston Mayor Defends Partial Release of Files in Patrick Rose Case

Mayor Kim Janey said the files were only partially released in order to protect the victims

Boston Mayor Kim Janey speaks after Derek Chauvin was convicted of two murder counts and one of manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.
NBC10 Boston

Boston Mayor Kim Janey on Thursday said her administration released as many files as it could in connection with a now-retired officer who was accused of sexually assaulting a minor in the 1990s but still allowed to rise through the ranks.

In a press conference, Janey defended the decision to only release only portion of the files related to the former officer, Patrick Rose, saying she did so to protect the identities of the victim.

"In terms of the files, what was released was what we could release in terms of understanding the process of how the case was handled," she said. "I will continue to protect the identity and the identities and the detail of the abuse in terms of the survivors of that case.

"I will do nothing that will jeopardize their identities," she added.

The remarks came amid calls for Janey to release the full internal affairs file for Rose.

In a statement Tuesday, former Boston police commissioner Paul Evans called for the full report to be released, saying it would show the full scope of actions taken against Rose. The city has released 13 pages and said it was withholding the rest to protect the identity of victims.

Evans has defended his handling of the case, saying it was referred to prosecutors and children’s services. He said a criminal complaint was issued in Roxbury District Court, but the case was dropped because the victim declined to testify.

Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell, meanwhile, is calling on Janey to launch an independent probe into the police department's handling of child molestation allegations against former officer Patrick Rose.

Campbell criticized Janey for releasing "incomplete" documents from a 1990s internal affairs investigation into Rose around the same time that Derek Chauvin was convicted for the murder of George Floyd. Both women are running for mayor in an upcoming fall election.

Janey expressed confidence in the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency, which has been charged with scrutinizing how Rose was allowed to stay in his job.

In a Tuesday announcement revealing several police reform measures, Boston Mayor Kim Janey said the case of Patrick Rose, a former Boston police officer and union chief charged with molesting multiple children, would be the first task for her newly created Office of Police Accountability and Transparency.

"What is important moving forward is that we understand the process and how that could have been," she said. "We will not re-victimize survivors in this case. This is not about pointing fingers, it's about understanding what happened in terms of the process.

Earlier this week, Janey ordered the release of documents from a 1990s internal affairs investigation into Rose, a retired officer who was able to keep his badge despite a 1995 criminal complaint for sexual assault on a 12-year-old child.

Boston Police internal investigators found sufficient evidence in 1996 to support allegations that an officer sexually assaulted a minor, yet the officer remained on the force and was eventually returned to full duty, according to the documents.

Janey said it was "indefensible" that a now-retired officer who was accused of sexually assaulting a minor in the 1990s was allowed to rise through the ranks and that her office had released as

"The fact that a Boston police officer could be accused of sexually abusing a child and that accusation would be sustained by the Boston Police Department; that that officer would not be terminated; that that officer would be accused of abusing other children and still stay on the force for another 20 years and rise through the ranks... is indefensible," Janey said. "That would not happen under my watch."

The internal affairs file was ordered released by Janey after The Boston Globe reported earlier this month that Rose, a retired officer and the one-time president of the Boston Patrolmen's Association, had been able to keep his badge despite the criminal complaint.

The documents released by the city are available here and embedded below.

Though the criminal complaint was eventually dropped, the department's Internal Affairs Division concluded there was enough evidence to support the allegations, according to the documents. Evans was notified in a June 1996 memo of the results of the probe.

Rose had been relieved of his weapon and placed on administrative duty, but was returned to full duty after an attorney for the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association wrote to the commissioner in October 1997 and threatened to file a grievance, according to the documents.

Rose now faces 33 charges involving six alleged victims. He has pleaded not guilty and his lawyer says he maintains his innocence.

Janey earlier this month announced several police reform measures aimed at boosting police accountability and transparency.

Janey named attorney Stephanie Everett as the leader of the new Office of Police Accountability and Transparency, a body whose creation was recommended by the city's police reform task force. The mayor announced that the office would get $1 million under her proposed budget, to be released Wednesday, while the Boston Police Department would have its overtime expenses funding cut.

"Today, Boston begins a new chapter. As mayor, I will lead a new era of police transparency and accountability. I am dedicated to ensuring safety, healing and justice for every resident in all of our neighborhoods," Janey said during a press conference last week.

Other investments include expanding the police cadet program by 50%, adding "20 new diverse officers to the police force," and reviewing allegations against police officers for policies the department has "discontinued due to disparate impacts on officers of color," Janey said.

She said she's ordered a pilot program that would temporarily re-house families whose homes have become crime scenes and another that would increase the role of mental health clinicians and reduce police officers' involvement in mental health crises.

The Associated Press/NBC
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