Thursday, 4:30 PM
Davis vows crackdown after officer's arrest
By Suzanne Smalley, Globe Staff
Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis, today in a press conference outside the federal courthouse where Officer Jose Ortiz was arraigned on extortion and drug charges, vowed to crack down on police officers who rack up multiple suspensions.
"If there are multiple suspensions, I will move to terminate," Davis said.
Firing officers for multiple suspensions would be a change in department policy.
Ortiz, a member of the force more than 20 years, had been suspended at least six times, the longest being for 70 days, of which he actually served a 20-day suspension, according to an FBI affidavit unsealed today in US District Court in Boston.
Pointing out that many of Ortiz's alleged crimes happened while he was working paid details, Davis also said that much of the investigation will focus on police details and how that could have happened.
Davis said Ortiz's arrest, so close on the heels of the federal indictment of three other Boston officers for conspiracy to traffic cocaine, is concerning. He said the department must do its best to weed out poor-quality applicants before they join the force, though he added that corruption is a problem in all professions.
"We need to work hard to get the best-qualified candidates in the Boston Police Department," Davis said. "But whether you're in the police department, the FBI, the US attorney's office as a lawyer, or a doctor, there are problems in professions ... What we need to do is aggressively pursue it when we see it."
