Hey, there! Log in / Register
BPD fires pair of anti-vax cops
By adamg on Tue, 03/14/2023 - 9:56am
Shana Cottone, who helped organize bucket-banging screamers outside Mayor Wu's house, announced last night she's been fired from the BPD sergeant's job from which she'd been suspended for more than a year.
Also fired: Ofr. Joseph Abasciano, who also took part in anti-vax protests and who was part of a slate that took control of the West Roxbury Republican Ward Committee after accusing the opposing slate of not loving Donald Trump enough. Abasciano, who was on medical leave, now lives in New Hampshire.
In her statement, Cottone claimed she and Abasciano were fired solely for exercising their First Amendment rights and that BPD is making a big mistake because the department needs more officers like them unafraid to speak out because cops who are willing to protest mask requirements would obviously be just the sort of people to speak out against horrible people like Patrick Rose and the cops who nearly killed then officer and now Police Commissioner Michael Cox.
In January, Cottone and several other anti-vaxxers lost a lawsuit over the city's brief requirement that people show proof of vaccination when entering most public indoor venues at the height of the omicron surge.
Cottone claimed she was discriminated against for both religious and medical reasons by two restaurants, including the Fenway Regina Pizzeria, which called police on her and fellow protesters when they showed up during a vaccination protest and refused to show proof of vaccination. Despite calling the on-duty cops who responded "goose steppers" and "a disgrace," she was allowed to finish her pizza.
She and the other plaintiffs had sought $6 million apiece for their alleged harm, but the judge in the federal case ruled none of them were actually harmed by the city requirement. In Cottone's case:
Plaintiff Cottone, a Boston Police officer, alleges she was refused service on two occasions for food at two separate Boston pizza establishments and consequently suffered emotional distress. She further alleges that following the incidents, Boston police launched an investigation into her conduct. Cottone concedes that she was able to enter the covered premises. While Cottone alleges that she has a medical need to quickly access food, the Order itself exempts those who enter an establishment for a brief purpose such as to pick up food. The embarrassment and distress Cottone suffered at the pizza establishments are not tied to any action taken by Defendants. Neither are the consequences Officer Cottone suffered as a result of actions undertaken independently by the Boston Police Department.
Neighborhoods:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
Turned away from the Fenway Pizzeria Regina?!
OMG, the heinous offense to your first-amendment and religious freedoms!
Good riddance, you ridiculous ignoramuses and threats to public safety. Go bang your buckets in some hick town where police and political leadership don't understand science, either.
If you saw the video
of that incident, Cottone treated the officers who arrived to deal with her bullshit like they were the criminals.
BS Termination
She never should have been fired. How the hell could the city force anyone to get that vaccine. Now that we know that it did not prevent transmission whatsoever and numerous health complications resulted from it
Counterfactual comment
She wasn't fired for avoiding the vaccine mandate. The city did not "force" anyone to get vaccinated. And the risks of the authorized COVID vaccines in the US far outweighs the risks from getting infected without prior immunity.
From the Globe, link posted by Adam below
Aww
Must be tough being so perpetually aggrieved.
If someone actually has a
If someone actually has a medical need to quickly access food, and isn't making it up to bolster a stupid lawsuit, they should carry some granola bars in their pocket.
Karma
Last Thursday in a Wrentham court room, Cottone tried to have a harassment protective order filed against a Black Twitter user who has been critical of her nonsense.I was there and it was embarrassing as her only evidence for the HPO was the man's Tweets.Thankfully the Judge laughed her out of court.
She just can't help losing, can she? Well, as my Grandma would say, good riddance to bad rubbish.
Third police officer fired
Lisa Kashinsky (Politico-Boston reporter)
Wu on @BosPublicRadio says a third BPD officer has been fired. This is the second one related to Jan. 6.
"medical leave"
Of course "medical leave" gotta make sure you continue to get those taxpayer funded paychecks.
Sorry folks, these are crooked cops, they know how to work the system. That dude knows that he would never be able to face some of his coworkers again, so magically they go on "medical leave"
Can't wait for the lawsuit from him going "you can't fire me while I am out on medical leave"
Good riddens.
Good!
Serve the public trust
Protect the Innocent
Uphold the law
You know what amuses me, I'm going to guess many of folks who resisted taking the vaccine and wanted to cry about it were Trump supporters, yet Trump himself takes credit for it and has taken it himself, so...what are these people arguing about, exactly? What are they trying to provde?
My general assumption was in some areas that the more crooked leadership of Police and Firefighter unions were trying to get more concessions / days off etc to comply with getting the vaccine, vs any actual real misgivings. Maybe I am stupid, but if your job involves running into a burning building, being shot at, or crawling through the dessert in a foreign country, being told as part of your job you need something to help keep you healthy, the only reason to deny it is some sort of mental illness or doing it to protest some fake enemy.
These people should be barred from ever working for state, local or federal government as well, and all pensions and benefits revoked. Its all BS political posturing that appeals to the more mentally ill in society.
Toss them out,, and salt the earth.
lol
lmao
“It’s a bold move Cottone; let’s see if it pays off.”
Guess not.
Didn't it?
They've gotten paid for the past year without having to work. Sounds like they had no interest in being Boston cops anyway.
There are plenty of departments that would be glad to hire them if they wanted a police job. Florida had been advertising they'd fast-track hire any officer fired for COVID policies in another state.
Cottone Blather
Wonders of the Irrational World
Who Knew About The Woke Windows Project?
Well I'm sure they feel pretty darn good today about standing their stomping ground to the point of forfeiting their $160K yearly salary.
Scroll down to see complaints. Note that Shana got the worst possible rating.
https://www.wokewindows.org/officers/106714-shana-cottone
By comparison, Joseph is just a misled Cub Scout.
https://www.wokewindows.org/officers/103590-joseph-abasciano#complaints
Was a cool project
But, alas, is no longer being updated.
I just want to add here
Good riddance to her, but especially to anyone who has over the course of the past three years tried to slander Wu and other public officials who imposed vaccine mandates as "anti-labor." As a titled member of a labor union, it pisses me off to no end that others out there were trying to co-opt labor and unions as not being compatible with responsible public health efforts. If you feel otherwise, you should leave your public service job immediately.
It’s discrimination
I am confused, isn’t Healy lifting the emergency? Why are they firing healthy workers? You wouldn’t even fire sick workers, you put them on pfml and pay for them to stay home. If you cared about their health you don’t fire people. That alone can cause health problems for that person. Why is a person who wants to work and not stay home collecting a check all of a sudden a threat? I don’t understand.
They weren't fired for not getting shots
The Globe has more details (yeah, password protected), for example, Abasciano's pro-1/6 putsch comments online:
Hiring At BPD
I really am getting a little nervous about hiring practices in police departments. Yes, I've met and know a good number of normal, well-adjusted police officers. But ... wow, to think there are so many legit Q-anon crackpots serving in our taxpayer-funded police forces around the country is really scary. While only a moron would call to "defund the police" I honestly believe there needs to be reforms in how potential officers are evaluated and hired. It's just nuts.
These three are ones we know about.
How many more just like them still in the force?
Scary to think.