Davis asks Conley to drop his plan

Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis gave Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley detailed reasons yesterday for why his department should retain control of all Boston homicide investigations and suggested that Conley should focus on the safety of the public.

In a three-page letter released to reporters at the same time police said it was sent to Conley, Davis said the prosecutor's plans to have State Police investigate killings on MBTA and state property will create confusion.

"The Boston Police Department remains laser-focused on public safety in the city's neighborhoods," Davis wrote. "I urge you to do the same and rethink your redesignation decision."

But Conley picked up a new ally yesterday in his feud with Davis when Transit Police Chief Joseph C. Carter publicly endorsed Conley's plan to use state troopers instead of Boston police to investigate homicides on the T.

In a written statement, Carter said Conley's move mirrors the policy long in use by prosecutors in other Massachusetts counties where the MBTA's extensive network of bus, subway, and commuter rail lines are located.

Carter, a former ranking member of the Boston Police Department, insisted he discussed the idea over the past year with Conley because of the need to process crime scenes in the most expeditious manner possible to minimize service interruptions. Conley's new policy "is not remarkable . . . [and] has been a longstanding and accepted practice" in other counties, Carter wrote.

Conley started publicly feuding with Davis in July after Davis replaced the head of the police homicide unit without Conley's approval.

Last night, through a spokesman, Conley refused to comment on Davis's letter, saying that he had not received a copy and that the commissioner had not called him to discuss his concerns.

"Without a letter or a phone call, the district attorney cannot respond to the commissioner's questions," said Conley spokesman Jake Wark. "He'd be happy to do so when either arrives."

But police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said police faxed the letter and supporting documents to Conley's office early yesterday evening. She said the same paperwork was also mailed to Conley's downtown office. "We sent it over," she said.

In addition to the letter, Davis sent Conley a 68-page package detailing state-owned parcels within the city's boundaries, state roads within Boston, and MBTA-owned parcels in Boston.

Conley's plan, Davis wrote, was so vaguely worded that detectives from any police department would have no idea who has authority to investigate if a homicide takes place near state property.

"As you are aware, there are train and trolley tracks on many major thoroughfares throughout the City of Boston,' Davis wrote. "What do you define as 'near' a train or trolley track?"

Davis tried to discredit another reason Conley gave for the policy change, that the shift will ease the burden on an "overtaxed" and undermanned Boston police homicide unit.

Davis said his officers investigated six killings on T buses or property since 2000 and solved all except one that occurred in March of this year.

He also wrote that he boosted the number of homicide detectives to 27 from 18 in recent weeks and added more police to the fugitive unit, whose work backs up homicide investigators.

"A review of the cases falling within your reassignment categories clearly reveals that the effect of reassignment on what you deem an "overtaxed" Boston Police Homicide Unit is insignificant at best," Davis wrote.

Davis also defended the quality and integrity of his detectives, whom he suggested Conley had maligned.

"They continue to maintain the highest degree of professionalism," Davis wrote. "Any suggestion to the contrary, specifically as contained in paragraph five of your letter, is unfounded and not based on any identifiable facts."

While Carter sided with Conley, both police officials insisted that they maintain cordial relations with the State Police.

That will continue, regardless of his fight with Conley, Davis said. "The Boston Police Department continues to have a mutually supportive relationship with the Massachusetts State Police."