Staff at a police training academy on Cape Cod have been relieved of duty amid misconduct allegations, and a law enforcement expert says the aggressive move suggests there’s likely some truth to the allegations.
Two leaders at a police academy on Cape Cod have been suspended amid an investigation into misconduct allegations, Massachusetts officials said Monday.
The Municipal Police Training Committee began looking into "alleged incidents of misconduct" by staff and instructors at the East Falmouth Police Academy on Wednesday, leaders said in a letter.
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On Thursday, all staff instructors were temporarily removed from their positions at the academy. Those roles are being filled "with personnel from another MPTC academy to minimize any disruption to the student officers' schedule."
Among those relieved of their duties were Academy Director Christopher Donelan, who retired as Franklin County sheriff in January, and Coordinator Edward Dunne, the former Falmouth police chief, according to the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.
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The committee, part of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, did not give details about the nature of the allegations.
"The MPTC is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, accountability and professionalism for our staff and student officers. Our mission is to provide a training environment that fosters respect, fairness and excellence in law enforcement, and we will continue to take all necessary steps to ensure our academies reflect these values," read the letter from MPTC Executive Director Rick Rathbun and Deputy Executive Director Amy Fanikos. "We take any allegations of misconduct seriously and are fully committed to conducting a thorough and impartial investigation. Any form of hazing, harassment or misconduct is unequivocally unacceptable and goes against our core values of integrity, respect and professionalism."
Law enforcement expert Todd McGhee said that, while he's not familiar with the complaint, the issues might stem from a problem with the workplace environment or deviation from proper procedures.
"To me, it could be something that's cultural, it could be a practice that is not in alignment with MPTC standards and so the remedy was to address it," McGhee said. "Having been in that role with my colleagues — we made sure we followed rules, regulations, guidelines. And that's what it's going to take."
He also said that the large, swift action involving more than a couple of people suggests "that the complaint has some truthfulness to it."
The investigation coincides with a recent audit by State Auditor Diana DiZoglio, which revealed deficiencies within the MPTC. The audit found a lack of standardized training curriculum, uncertified instructors and skipped lessons.
The committee "plays a crucial role when it comes to the public safety of our Commonwealth as they establish police training standards and maintain records of such training," DiZoglio said in a statement. "Our recent audit of the MPTC, released last December, noted significant areas for much-needed improvement to ensure increased accountability in its training, certification and record-keeping processes.”
