BOSTON —
The Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission has responded to Attorney Alan Jackson’s letter demanding an investigation into Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox over alleged credibility issues related to the Karen Read case.
Jackson’s letter previously asked for a “full disciplinary review” of Cox for “dishonesty, lack of candor, and conduct unbecoming of an officer.”
However, in a response letter released on Thursday, the POST Commission said the Boston police commissioner is actually a civilian executive and not a sworn law enforcement officer.
“According to the City, Commissioner Cox does not personally carry out police duties and functions,” the letter read. “Based in part on this information, the Commission thus far has not required non-sworn civilian executives such as Commissioner Cox to obtain law enforcement certification nor has the Commission treated them as being subject to other statutory and regulatory provisions governing sworn law enforcement officers.”
Jackson, who represented Karen Read in the murder trial of John O’Keefe, penned a strongly worded letter to the commission and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on Oct. 27, suggesting that Cox not only knew of former officer Kelly Dever but also pressured her to change her testimony in Karen Read’s second trial.
Dever, who has since resigned from the Boston Police Department, was a former member of the Canton Police Department and testified that she worked patrol on Jan. 28, 2022, the night before O’Keefe was found in the snow.
Jackson demanded Cox be added to the “Brady List,” a national list of police officers whose credibility and conduct have been reasonably questioned in the past.
Jackson claimed he obtained new evidence showing Cox knowingly misrepresented his involvement with both Dever and the Read case.
NewsCenter 5 has reached out to Jackson for comment about the POST Commission’s response.
While there won’t be an investigation for the time being, the POST Commission said they would re-examine their policies regarding civilians involved in overseeing law enforcement agencies.