The Boston Police Department is a hotbed of political rumors on slow days, and even more so in the middle of a mayoral election. That probably explains the recent flap over the demotion of Earl Perkins, the former commander in charge of the department’s intelligence gathering unit, which keeps tabs on dangers ranging from street gang recruitment to potential terror plots.
Speculation swirls within the department that Perkins’s fate was the result of tensions with Detective Thomas Menino Jr., the mayor’s son. Conflicts between command staff and line officers are nothing new in police work. But this story has been gaining steam because Perkins was cracking down on overtime and use of departmental cars at the time of his demotion. And Detective Menino reportedly made liberal use of both. Some see the mayor’s heavy hand behind Perkins’s fall.
The evidence suggests otherwise. Police commissioner Edward Davis says the mayor played no role in the demotion or in other recent personnel moves in the department. “I’m running the place,’’ says Davis. “And it’s running pretty well.’’ There is good reason to believe him. The move was part of a wider shake-up in the command staff in May that included demotions or transfers in the department’s labor relations and criminal investigative divisions. There’s nothing suspicious about a police commissioner who moves people out of his command staff when they are not meeting his expectations.
As head of the Boston Regional Intelligence Center since 2007, Perkins earned the respect of a lot of federal agents and outside police agencies. But his bosses had been souring on him. His failure to set up a timely clearinghouse for search warrants was one red flag. He also coordinated the arrest of street artist Shepard Fairey in February without consulting higher-ups on the possible public-relations fallout, according to police officials.
The department has reduced overtime spending by 25 percent during the first quarter of the current fiscal year over the same period a year earlier. Mayor Menino would have been especially naive to pick this fight on behalf of his son’s overtime paycheck at a time when his administration was cracking down on the expensive practice. Going out on such a dangerous limb wouldn’t add up. It would make sense, however, that the department’s superior officers’ union, which endorsed mayoral challenger Michael Flaherty, might be stoking this fire.
Lately, Menino has been dismissing any criticism of his administration as so much election-season mischief. In this case, he has a point.
