Ex-Stoughton officer is denied a new trial

Former Stoughton police sergeant David Cohen lost his bid for a new trial in Norfolk Superior Court, ending his latest attempt to overturn a three-year jail sentence for attempted extortion, witness intimidation, and filing a false police report.

Cohen can still bring his case before the state Appeals Court. That court, however, has already rejected his plea to have his sentence postponed until his appeal could be heard.

Cohen had requested the new trial based on what his lawyers called judicial errors; specifically, they argued that the judge closed the courtroom to the general public during the jury selection process, a violation, they said, of Cohen's right to an open trial.

Judge Barbara A. Dortch-Okara ruled June 27 that the courtroom was not closed to the public even though court officers at times closed the doors when the courtroom was crowded.

The court's action was the latest in a legal drama that began four years ago with a complaint that Cohen was abusing his authority as a Stoughton police officer in a debt collection case. The case was part of his private law practice at the time.

Cohen was indicted in 2005, and convicted last summer in Norfolk Superior Court on charges of abusing his police powers. He is serving a three-year jail sentence.

The police chief, Manuel Cachopa, was charged with trying to interfere with the initial investigation. He has been on paid administrative leave since he was indicted in 2005 on charges he tried to cover up an investigation into one of his officers.

Cachopa's trial has been moved back several times. The most recent start date is next month.