Evidence Tampering NEW! – 14 Month Probe targeting cops over missing drugs stored in BPD evidence warehouse reveals over 1000 cases of tampering over a 16 yr. period. Boston’s Finest? Find out more about BPD Drug Evidence Tampering Boston’s #1 Dirty Cop Detective Sgt. Daniel Keeler is a 27-year BPD veteran. Keeler, a former U.S. Marine is also known as “Mr. Homicide” for his remarkable track record of clearing more than 200 murder cases. Keeler won the department’s medal of honor, its highest award for bravery, when he rescued a drowning man from the Charles River. Keeler is the perfect example of the highly decorated cop who is also despicably dirty. Keeler’s Dirty Track Record – Notables *Jermain Goffigan case… Framed Donnell Johnson for the murder by supressing evidence and testimony and helped send an innocent young black man to jail. Subsequently brought up on federal charges for lying to a jury and obstructing justice. Donnel Johnson was released from Jail. *Humboldt Shooting – Det. Keeler opened fire on John Powell on a busy afternoon on Humboldt Ave. Keeler fired off 8 shots at a disarmed man, many of which lodged in neighboring residents and businesses. – Read On for full details- Shades of Keeler By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN, Boston Phoenix 9/13/2006 Full story from the BOSTON PHOENIX Arrests and acquittals Keeler was later assigned to a regular homicide squad. On Halloween evening, 1994, nine-year-old Jermaine Goffigan was fatally shot on his front porch in Roxbury’s Academy Homes projects. Keeler and Detective William Maloney, working on a tip, quickly arrested Donnell Johnson. In the first interrogation with Keeler, Johnson gave an alibi: he was home with his family that night. That alibi — in fact, the very fact that the questioning took place — was never passed on to the prosecutors, as required by law. (A judge later called the episode “deeply troubling”: Maloney was suspended for 30 days but Keeler was not disciplined.) In 2000, Johnson was exonerated when federal investigators discovered that two other men, who later pled guilty, had committed the murder. After discussing 12 years of Keeler cases with prosecutors, defense attorneys, investigators, and others — and reviewing court documents, transcripts, and other case materials — one detects a distinct pattern, particularly in high-profile cases, such as those involving murdered children. That pattern includes vague circumstances leading Keeler to a suspect; information never making it to the defense counsel; and eventual acquittal or exoneration, long after Keeler has enjoyed the glory of solving a case. Anthony Jones was acquitted twice on Keeler cases, from 1993 and 1994; Leon Dixon was acquitted of a 1996 murder; Felix Santiago’s conviction for the 1994 murder of a pregnant 17-year-old was overturned and he was not retried; Lamarr Smith was acquitted of the 1997 murder of a 16-year-old. Marlon Passley was convicted for a 1995 murder and exonerated for it in 1999. Keeler was involved with all of these cases. Another case, from a 1998 murder, ended in acquittal after the key witness recounted on the stand how Keeler helped him clear up some pending charges, and offered to use his influence to obtain a green card — contradicting Keeler’s claim under oath that he gave no assistance or promises to the witness. But a detective’s name is built on closing cases, not on what happens to those cases later. That, along with Keeler’s reputation for hard work — he is consistently among the top overtime-earners in the department — moved him to the top of the pile. By the late ’90s he was supervising the late-night squad — which put him in charge of hundreds of violent-crime scenes every year. The department’s confidence in the self-described “Mr. Homicide” gave Keeler nearly free rein over dozens of homicide investigations. In fact, in March 2001 the department picked Keeler to be the main subject for the ABC News documentary Boston 24/7 — a decision that would prove ill-fated. During the film, Keeler celebrates his apparent solving of a brutal murder: the beheading of William Leyden. Keeler pinned the gruesome act on Leyden’s brother, John. Three years later, Leyden was exonerated when serial killer Eugene McCollum confessed — and Keeler verified his guilt by finding the head in the exact spot, in a Florida playground, where McCollum said he buried it. Leyden’s exoneration in early 2004 proved to be the first in a torrent of Keeler embarrassments. That April, Kyle Bryant was acquitted of the 1999 murder of his pregnant 14-year-old girlfriend, with jurors telling the local media that the recording of Keeler’s heavy-handed interrogation played a key role in their verdict. In November, jury members again blamed Keeler’s investigation, after they acquitted James Bush for the murder of three-year-old Malik Andrade-Percival. One juror told the Herald that Keeler “messed this entire case up.” In that same case, the defense attorney forced Keeler to admit to making false statements in an affidavit seeking search warrants — which some consider even more damaging to his credibility in future trials. In December 2004, a jury acquitted one of the two men accused of killing 10-year-old Trina Persad in 2002. The judge stopped the trial while the jury was still deliberating on the other defendant, Joseph Cousin, due to allegations that jurors had lied on their forms. It was yet another high-profile murder case Keeler appeared to solve that later unraveled in court. Moved to the side In addition to the headline-grabbing acquittals, still other issues haunted Keeler. In September 2002, Keeler shot a murder suspect (John Powell) in the head in the middle of a busy street (Humboldt Ave., Roxbury). The shooting was ruled justified, and the man was later convicted of murder. But it raised questions about his judgment. Keeler was also rebuked for a December 2003 incident in which he ignored a suspect’s request for an attorney while questioning him in his hospital bed. Over the years, Keeler has become the subject of several lawsuits. While investigating the murder of Jose Deveiga, two officers under Keeler’s command pulled an innocent man
