Massport skimped on policing

It was a brutal beating. As Lisa Craig, her lesbian partner, and their two children were leaving an East Boston park after the fireworks on July 4, 2003, a teenager punched Craig, knocking her to the ground. A group of teenagers then began kicking her in the head, Craig said.

Craig was beaten so badly that it took 220 stitches to close the wounds and required emergency brain surgery to save her life.

Craig and her partner say they had been taunted with antigay slurs by teenagers earlier in the evening and looked for a police officer, but there were none around. So they sued the Massachusetts Port Authority, which is responsible for policing the park, for reckless disregard of public safety.

Massport spent nearly $600,000 defending itself in the suit and then quietly settled it for $205,000 last fall, under an agreement that the parties keep it confidential.

But the Globe, through the state public records law, forced Massport last month to release its files on the lawsuit. The documents indicate that a top Massport police captain was repeatedly asked to put additional officers on duty at Piers Park on July 4, when thousands of people gather. But the captain declined, leaving one officer assigned to patrol the 6.5-acre park.

The documents also show that the Massport police were trying to cut overtime costs. The captain, Michael Grady , who is in charge of scheduling, declined to pay overtime that evening, the records say. An additional officer would have cost $330.

In addition, Massport's director of maritime security -- Joseph Lawless , who is in charge of the 38-officer force -- repeatedly testified that he did not recall many details of police operations under his supervision, including the plan to reduce overtime, according to the documents.

Officials at Massport declined to be interviewed. The agency released a statement saying the case was settled "in the best interest of all involved."

"Massport has operated Piers Park in a safe manner for many years and feels its officers performed as they should have on the evening when this unfortunate incident occurred," the statement said.

For the evening of July 4, 2003, Massport police planned to assign two officers to patrol the park. The depositions in the case, however, show that William F. Judge, the lieutenant in charge of East Boston patrols, testified that he repeatedly warned against understaffing the park that night, when crowds gather to watch the fireworks over the Esplanade. Typically, Judge testified, three or four officers were assigned to patrol the park on the holiday, plus a supervisor.

Four days before July 4, 2003, Judge testified, he called Grady. "I was concerned about -- the more police presence you have in a situation where you're going to have a couple of thousand people, the better off you are," he testified.

"I'll get back to you," Grady replied, but he did not, Judge testified.

The next day, Judge, a 35-year veteran of the force, called Grady again and "expressed a concern about the size of the crowd," according to his testimony. Grady again promised to get back to Judge, but failed to do so.

The next day and the day after, Judge called again and got the same response. Then, on the morning of July 4, Judge called for the last time. "I'm going with what I have," Grady said and then hung up, according to Judge's testimony.

Judge testified that one officer, Jack Comeau , was eager to work overtime that night. Comeau and other Massport officers had been tracking gang activity at Piers Park, and he wanted to see whether any gang members would show up that evening.

Asked in the deposition whether one officer could manage the crowd, Judge responded, "Absolutely not."

"I would, myself, have never wanted to be put in the position to be that one," he said

Judge also testified that personal friction might have played a role in Grady's dismissal of his warnings. "At this point, historically, he and I -- I know if I said the sky was blue, it was gray," he testified.

While Grady had decided that two officers would be enough, it was not to be. One of the officers scheduled to work that night, Wendy Sullivan , called in sick. Grady decided not to replace her.

Asked about the decision, Grady said in a deposition last March, "At the time, to factor into a decision, I would have taken into consideration prior staffing levels, the time of the day, the time of the year, the weather, the lack of criminal activity in the park historically, as well as family crowds being the users of the park in factoring in to making a decision on whether or not to replace Officer Sullivan."

Grady was not asked directly about overtime and never mentioned it as a factor in his decision-making. He said that while McNally alone was assigned to the park, he made a point of checking on the park himself.

Craig and Riley's account of the evening is contained in their lawsuit, which was filed in November 2004. Craig and Riley said trouble began about 9 p.m. when an "intoxicated" teenager urinated in view of their daughters, ages 5 and 9. When Craig protested, the teenager cursed at her, using a derogatory reference to her sexual orientation.

An hour later, the teenagers, "who were obviously underage and were openly drinking alcoholic beverages," pointed to Craig and Riley and used slurs when shouting for everyone to look at the two women, their account said.

After the fireworks, at about 10:40 p.m., Craig and Riley jostled with the teenagers as the crowd left the park, they said in the account. After one of them knocked Craig to the sidewalk, the gang set upon her.

"During the attack, the teenagers punched, kicked, and shouted derogatory comments about her sexual orientation," according to their account.

One of the teenagers "gripped [Craig's] head and slamm[ed] her head repeatedly on the sidewalk," in an attack that lasted "several minutes," they said.

With Craig "unconscious with an orange-sized lump on her head," Riley "kept shouting for help, and directed the crowd to call the police, 911, etc., but there were no police to be found," according to Craig and Riley.

As the children cried, "Don't die Mommy!" several men helped Craig, until one officer, McNally, arrived, they said in their account.

In his report, filed the day after the beating, McNally wrote that when he arrived at the scene, Craig was lying on the ground, badly beaten. He began first aid. " Approximately 20 teenage males and females were hostile and verbally threatening the victim, her children, " McNally wrote.

Craig was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital.

In responding to the suit, Massport's lawyer, Mary K. Ryan, a partner at the firm Nutter, McClennen & Fish, questioned whether the beating was "an unprovoked attack or fight."

Massport in its court filings supported Grady's staffing decisions on that evening.

The documents also show that Lawless had directed Grady to prepare the plan to reduce overtime. When questioned about the plan in a deposition, however, Lawless replied, "I don't recall the specifics."

Asked about overtime to replace sick officers, Lawless replied, "I don't recall." He gave the same response to a question about overtime at Piers Park.

Lawless hired Grady as his top assistant in 1996. Grady's only prior law enforcement experience was a year spent as a Middlesex County correction officer.

Telephone messages left with Craig were not returned. Riley could not be reached.

One person was arrested in connection with the beating. Anita Santiago, 15 at the time, was indicted for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and aggravated assault.

Santiago, in a deposition in the civil case, disputed Craig and Riley's account of the incident. She said she and Craig exchanged angry words over Craig's daughter being knocked down in the crowd. Santiago said Craig put her hands on her before Santiago punched Craig twice. She said she did not kick Craig or use anti gay slurs.

On July 11, 2005, Santiago pleaded guilty to assault and battery and was sentenced to a year's probation.

Sean P. Murphy can be reached at smurphy@globe.com.