WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - A Worcester city councilor announced she is stepping back from some of her responsibilities amid an investigation into her crashing into a parked car earlier this month.
On September 2, Worcester police responded to a motor vehicle crash on Harrington Way at approximately 12:03 a.m. When officers arrived, they found that City Councilwoman Kathleen Toomey had crashed into an unoccupied parked car.
Body camera video from the scene shows Toomey sitting in her car around midnight after she said she was leaving a restaurant. The officer asked her what happened, and Toomey replied, “I was driving down the street and that’s all I really remember.” A second body camera video captured Toomey ask the officers to “call the chief.”
A spokesperson for the City of Worcester said because a city councilor was involved, they initiated an internal investigation on the same date as the crash to ensure that no preferential treatment was provided, and that all departmental policies were followed.
In a statement, Toomey wrote, “On September 2nd, I was involved in a collision with an unlawfully parked vehicle. Fortunately, nobody was injured. But to be clear, the police investigated the incident, I cooperated fully and was allowed to return to my home.
I was not in any way impaired and will face no charges.
In order to avoid any potential appearance of a conflict, I have decided to temporarily step down from the Public Safety Committee and recuse myself from any matter involving the
Worcester Police Department until the investigation is over. I’m doing this out of an abundance of caution and to ensure that the work of our Committee and the integrity of the Worcester Police Department remain above reproach.”
Morris Bergman was temporarily appointed as Vice Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Safety in Toomey’s place, Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty announced.
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