City once again ordered to rehire cop accused of excessive violence

Fuck Michael Ryan, and fuck David Williams. All three are equal parts of the big and growing problem our society has with scumbag cops, the proverbial "bad apples" spoiling the bunch, making life more dangerous for good cops and civilians alike.

witnesses should be vetted BEFORE appearing. If the defense has any objections, they should be raised at that time, and not after a verdict or ruling has been rendered.

So a cop attacks people on more than one occasion and his "punishment" is getting paid $900,000 for sitting his fat ass on his couch. No wonder people despise cops.

Seems like the arbitrator pool is heavily weighted towards letting bad performers off the hook. Why is there not a more neutral pool?

Next contract, the BPD should demand that discipline for certain very serious complaints (police brutality, for instance) not be subject to arbitration.

On June 20, highly respected Arbitrator Michael Ryan issued a decision overturning the discharge of Boston Police Officer David Williams. All of the facts are meticulously set out in the decision’s 44 pages but are briefly summarized here.

On March 16, 2009, Michael O’Brien was a Middlesex Deputy Sheriff/Corrections Officer coming off his Providence bachelor party and St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. After spending up to five hours at the Black Rose, a noted Fanueil Hall bar, he and two buddies headed to the North End, where one of them lived. While trying to back his car down Hanover Street (the major two-way thoroughfare through the densely populated commercial area), his friend crossed the double-yellow line into a double-parked BMW. The BMW owner called 911 as he saw O’Brien drive off in the car that had just struck his. His recorded 911 comments included observations that O’Brien’s group were “drunk” and that although he was a “federal agent,” they were not in any trouble.

When Officers David Williams and Diep Nguyen responded to the call, their efforts to simply have the parties exchange papers were met by the seeming drunken hostility of O’Brien and his friends. O’Brien held out his cell phone while yelling at the officers to do their jobs. Inexplicably, he insisted the officers investigate the struck driver’s claims of federal agency. Told that he could record them all he wanted but not in the middle of Hanover Street, O’Brien continued standing in the busy street. When Officer Nguyen attempted to place him under arrest, O’Brien’s resistance caused Officer Williams, across the street writing a citation in his parked cruiser, to come to his fellow officer’s assistance. Surrounded by O’Brien’s two friends, one of whom had to be physically pushed away from the officers, Williams made an “officer in trouble” call just as Nguyen was about to do the same. Other officers arrived and O’Brien was placed under arrest. -- Alan Shapiro

God bless Officer David Williams and Officer Diep Nguyen. Two great men who could have easily used race to slide into cushy, plainclothes jobs years ago but opted to remain in the trenches, wearing the uniform, shagging 911 calls and dealing with the dregs of society. I'm thrilled that justice has prevailed. Confronted with a "wannabe" cop who, according to a third party, was drunk, they did all they could to resolve the incident without force.

It's only a hunch, but having been assigned as a Detective in recruitment and background investigations for a portion of my career, I suspect that the plaintiff in this case harbored latent resentment of the fact that a black and Vietnamese officer had the job that he coveted, thus his disorderly behavior. The same latent resentment motivating some of the hateful comments here. Every department has its "bookworms" and "doormen." Officers who hide behind a school studying for promotion, or hold the door for other officers running into break up a fight. It is those officers who have the "clean" disciplinary files. I'd take Officer Williams over them any day. Welcome back, sir and congratulations to Arbitrator Ryan for the courage you have shown.