DA condemns shake-up of police homicide unit

In an extremely rare public rebuke, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley yesterday railed against a shake-up in the Boston Police Department, saying Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis was risking the reversal of recent positive steps in investigations by replacing the head of the homicide unit.

Conley, who under state law is in charge of homicide investigations in Boston, said he was not consulted on the decision and is "looking at all my options going forward." One option could be to put State Police in charge of homicide cases in Boston, a power the Suffolk district attorney's office said Conley has.

"The commissioner has just unilaterally thrown out decades of communication, collabora tion, agreement, and joint decision-making," Conley told the Globe yesterday. "I disagree with what he's done, and I disagree with the reasons he's put forward for doing it."

Davis announced on Friday evening that he was replacing the head of the department's homicide division, Deputy Superintendent Daniel J. Coleman , as well as the overall head of police investigations, in the most widespread shake-up of his command staff since he took over last year.

In interviews yesterday and Friday, Davis declined to specify why he was replacing Coleman.

"What I'm doing is after six months of reviewing how the Police Department is running is putting a good solid team in place, people who would work together," Davis said yesterday. "That's the motivation with the changes I've made. That's what's really driving this."

Davis replaced Coleman with Deputy Superintendent Thomas Lee , who is credited with the overhaul of the Special Operations Division, which was involved in the pepper-pellet shooting death of Victoria Snelgrove, 21, during a Red Sox victory celebration in 2004.

"I can't understand why the commissioner would unilaterally move to replace someone who has so much experience and so much respect with someone who has never investigated a homicide case," Conley said. "And he says that represents progress? I don't think so."

Told of Conley's statements yesterday, Davis, who was appointed last year after serving as police chief of Lowell, said: "I've never heard anything so ridiculous in my life. I would certainly not suppose to interfere in the selection of his top command staff. This is surprising, to say the least."

"He has never had any conversation with me about the reasons why I made the changes I made," he added. "Perhaps if he did that, he would not take this unusual step and he would understand."

Davis has said he hopes to improve the department's clearance rate, the proportion of cases in which suspects are identified and arrested the same year as the homicide. On Friday, he acknowledged a concern about the city's unsolved crime rate , which is below the national average .

The unit cleared 38 percent of the 74 homicides last year and 29 percent of the 75 committed in 2005, when Boston hit a 10-year high. Those rates are far lower than the 70 percent cleared in 2002. According to the FBI, about 62 percent of homicide cases nationwide were cleared in 2005, the most recent year for which figures are available.

Conley said that by putting more emphasis on solving homicide cases quickly, Davis could jeopardize the integrity of the investigations. "He's got a different philosophy when it comes to investigating homicide cases," Conley said. "He wants homicide clearance rates to go up, but I'm not willing to prosecute cases that have not been thoroughly investigated."

"I understand the commissioner is under political pressure to improve these numbers," Conley added, "but what commissioners are supposed to do is resist political pressure and do things justly. I don't think the commissioner has done that in this case."

Mayor Thomas M. Menino backed the commissioner's decision, saying "every once in a while it's good to make some changes."

"He wanted a team in place that he's able to work with," Menino said. "Sometimes it's good to have new faces and new ideas as we try to make this the safest city in America."

In a subtle jab at Conley, Menino added, "there's a difference between sitting there making a judgment and being out on the streets. Those police officers are out there all the time trying to get information, and they're doing a good job of it."

Several cases that were tried in the 1990s were later overturned after more evidence was discovered. Anthony Powell, who was freed in 2004 after 12 years in prison for a rape he did not commit, in March filed a lawsuit asserting that Boston police twisted the results of forensics tests and used unreliable eyewitness-identification techniques.

Coleman, who has been in place nearly four years, is credited with major changes, and several lawyers said yesterday that the veracity of the investigations has improved dramatically.

"My job is to criticize the investigation and find flaws in it, and I really think he's done a good job in making the investigations more thorough ," said Michael Doolin , a criminal defense lawyer who has tried nearly 40 cases involving the Boston Police Department. "He's taken the Boston Police Department to the 21st century, and I can't imagine why they want to take him out."

Police officials said they have not determined what will happen to Coleman .

Community leaders have praised Davis for trying to instill more confidence by replacing several high-ranking officials.

"The community knows how dismal the rate of solving homicides is," said Horace Small , executive director of the Union of Minority Neighborhoods, a group that trains community activists. "For the homicide division to work, they need relationships, and quite frankly right now they don't have those relationships. Any change that embraces community and says, 'We are partners with you,' I think that's a step in the right direction."

As part of the shake-ups announced on Friday, Davis also transferred Paul F. Joyce Jr. , superintendent for the Bureau of Investigative Services, and put in his place Superintendent Bruce A. Holloway , a former homicide investigator who has recently been in charge of auditing department policies and procedures.

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com