Police detective involved in harassment case is transferred

Allegations fly in custody fight

A Boston sergeant detective who led the department's school unit has been transferred to a district while internal affairs investigates an allegation that he used his position to pursue a vendetta against his girlfriend's former husband.

Michael Talbot, 41, allegedly helped his girlfriend, a police clerk at the department, file numerous restraining orders against her former husband, Christopher Broderick, according to Broderick's lawyer, Joseph Donnellan. He said the couple then falsely accused Broderick of violating the orders.

The investigation is the latest development in a fierce personal battle that began soon after Broderick and his former wife, Miriam, divorced in 2005. Miriam Broderick is also under investigation, said Elaine Driscoll, spokeswoman for the Boston Police Department.

"Sergeant Detective Talbot is an excellent police officer who has done a tremendous job for the Police Department," Driscoll said. "This is an unfortunate and personal situation involving three adults in a contentious custody battle. There are some allegations of wrongdoing that we are obligated to review. We hope to quickly have a resolution for everyone involved."

Christopher Broderick, 47, a building contractor from Roslindale, said that Talbot wants to put him in jail and tear him away from his three children.

"I'm just trying to live my life and bring my children up without all the turmoil and the chaos," he said. "I want to be left alone, but it doesn't seem to be happening."

Talbot was transferred Sept. 26 to District 1, covering downtown, Beacon Hill, Charlestown, and Chinatown. He declined to comment.

Talbot's lawyer, Edward J. McNelley, said it is Broderick who has been harassing his client, a 19-year veteran of the department.

"Sergeant Talbot's position has been that Chris Broderick has been stalking him," he said. "He just wants Chris Broderick out of his life."

Miriam Broderick, 39, who has worked for the department for 13 years, said the legal battle over her and Broderick's children has been resolved. She has custody of her 17-year-old daughter, while Broderick has custody of their three younger children.

"It's just a matter of my ex-husband having a personal vendetta against me and Michael Talbot," she said.

Last January, Talbot accused Christopher Broderick of threatening him during a conversation with another police officer. A West Roxbury District Court judge ordered Broderick to stay 25 yards away from the officer.

But on Aug. 30, Talbot said, Christopher Broderick violated that order when he showed up to a school event at City Hall Plaza, where Talbot was on duty. Broderick said he believed Talbot was not on duty that day and he went to the event with his three children because they wanted school supplies the city was giving away.

"He knows that Sergeant Talbot was on duty," McNelley said. "What he was trying to do was bait Sergeant Talbot that day."

Miriam Broderick took photos of her former husband at the event, and Talbot complained to other officers at the scene, who filed a report against Broderick.

Donnellan said the couple were trying to trap his client. On Sept. 16, the lawyer wrote to Davis, saying that Talbot was victimizing Broderick.

Other department officials have raised concerns about Talbot's behavior in the past.

In a Sept. 22, 2006, memo to department supervisors, then-Deputy Superintendent Margot Hill said that Talbot had become "overly emotionally involved" in the case. She recommended the department strip him of his gun, restrict him to desk duty, and seek counseling.

The memo stemmed from an investigation by the department's Family Justice Division into allegations that Broderick, who has a criminal record of assault and battery, was a threat to his former wife.

"I believe his romantic involvement with Miriam Broderick has so colored his thought process that he may be a danger to himself or Christopher Broderick," she wrote.

Driscoll said officials did not find sufficient cause to follow that advice.

"The department at the time reviewed the information and saw absolutely no reason to put Talbot on restrictive duty," she said.

Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com.