The Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST) said Thursday it will not investigate Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox because he is a “civilian executive,” not a sworn law enforcement officer.
Defense Attorney Alan Jackson, who represented Karen Read during her murder trial, sent a letter to POST in October asking that Cox be investigated for dishonest conduct in the wake of that trial. Jackson claimed Cox was aware of his department’s entanglement in the Read case.
Kelly Dever, a former Boston police officer who worked for the Canton police department when John O’Keefe died, testified in Read’s second trial. Jackson alleged that Cox pressured Dever to change her testimony.
Jackson pointed to an email from the Boston FBI field office to Cox that mentions Dever and the Read investigation. He also provided a copy of what he said is Cox’s officials calendar, which shows a meeting with Dever.
Dever resigned from the Boston police department earlier this year.
In the letter responding to Jackson obtained by 7NEWS, POST Executive Director Enrique Zuniga wrote in part, “Under the Commission’s governing statutes, and as relevant here, a ‘law enforcement officer’ includes ‘any officer of an agency, including the head of the agency.’ M.G.L. c. 6E, § 1. The City of Boston has informed the Commission that, pursuant to Department policies and governing statutes, the Boston Police Commissioner is a civilian executive, not a sworn law enforcement officer. According to the City, Commissioner Cox does not personally carry out police duties and functions.”
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