Boston Mayor Kim Janey said she is creating a new police accountability office to oversee investigations of misconduct, and one of its first tasks will be reviewing the case of a former top officer who allegedly kept his job after an internal affairs investigation found credible evidence he sexually assaulted a child.
Janey’s announcement comes after a report from the Boston Globe that the BPD determined Patrick Rose likely committed a crime following charges of child molestation in 1995, but he remained on the force for two decades more and eventually became the president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association. Last year, Rose pleaded not guilty of 33 molestation charges involving six children.
“Transparency cannot wait any longer,” Janey said Tuesday. “As mayor, the likes of Patrick Rose will not be protected on my watch and those who are complicit in abuse of power will be brought to account.”
Janey said attorney Stephanie Everett will serve as executive director of the new Office of Police Accountability and Transparency, which will have a $1 million budget and was recommended by the Boston Police Reform Task Force. Everett is a former Beacon Hill aide and an attorney who today runs her own private practice.
Janey said she was “heartbroken and angry” at BPD allowing Rose to stay on the job and come into contact with children. She said redacted files of the 1995 internal affairs investigation would be available later in the week.
“We must change the way BPD internal affairs works to ensure that this never happens again,” Janey said.
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