Thursday, 4:30 PM
Stoughton police sergeant guilty of attempted extortion, witness intimidation
(Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff/file)
Sergeant David Cohen, a Stoughton police officer shown above in June, was convicted today after a trial that lasted six weeks.
By Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff
DEDHAM -- A Stoughton police sergeant was convicted today of abusing his police powers to aid his day job as an attorney.
Police Sergeant David M. Cohen, an 18-year veteran of the force, was found guilty of attempting to extort, filing a false police report, and two counts of witness intimidation. He is expected to be sentenced Aug. 27 in Norfolk County Superior Court.
A 12-member jury deliberated for almost four full days before reaching a verdict. In total, the case lasted six weeks, making it one of the longest trials Norfolk County Superior Court has seen, according to Special Prosecutor George Jabour.
"It was a complicated case, a long case, a lot of evidence to go through, and as far as I'm concerned it was a just verdict," he said.
Cohen was acquitted on six other counts including kidnapping and assault and battery. A codefendant, police officer Robert Letendre, was acquitted of charges of accessory after the fact, and filing a false police report.
Prosecutors alleged that in two separate cases Cohen used his powers as a police officer to intimidate people in cases related to his work as a lawyer. Letendre was accused of helping him in one case.
The town's police chief, Manuel J. Cachopa, has also been charged with covering up the officers' work. He is expected to go on trial in October.
The jury ruled that Cohen used his police badge to intimidate someone who owned his client money. He Cohen declined to comment after the verdict.
