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Transit Police officer gets probation after admitting he beat a homeless man at Ashmont station then lied about it

A Transit Police officer was sentenced to just probation last month after admitting he beat a homeless man at Ashmont station - and then arrested the man on a bogus charge of assault and battery on a police officer, court records show.

Dorston Bartlett had been indicted in 2019 on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, witness intimidation, violating the civil rights of the victim and filing a false police report for repeatedly striking the 32-year-old man with his baton at Ashmont on July 27, 2018 and then arresting him on the fake charge. Two TPD sergeants were charged as accessories for helping Bartlet falsely charge the man.

Bartlett, who retired after Transit Police began investigating the incident, had been scheduled to go on trial on July 25 of this year. On July 20, however, he struck a plea deal with the Suffolk County District Attorney's office to plead guilty to a reduced charge of assault and battery, rather than assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, civil-rights violation and filing a false police report.

Judge Elaine Buckley accepted the deal - in which the charge of witness intimidation was dropped completely - and sentenced Bartlett to two years of probation.

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Comments

I wonder if he still has his job

there’s a very good chance that he does

does anybody know?

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He retired - it's in the summary above.

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"you retire, or we fire you. Want to keep your pension?"

Outrageous verdict, but at least this cop is off the force.

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THIS, is exactly why I will be voting for Ricardo on Sept 6th and Nov 8th.

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I'd say it's unbelievable, except it's entirely predictable. DA Hayden should resign.

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For a one-time payment of $100 to the Hayden election campaign Officer Bartlett could’ve made this go away.

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News flash..being homeless makes you full of depression, anger, and desperation. That's a recipe for violence.

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The homeless man was arrested on a charge of assault and battery on a police officer, but the police officer admitted he made that up.

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and not because he was a cop. First there are the evidence problems. If the victim doesn't show up, difficult if not impossible to get a conviction, even with video. Homeless people are unreliable in that regard.
Second there is the likely lack of a record of the defendant. First offenders usually get a good deal unless it's murder or another heinous crime.

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The man used his position of trust as a police officer to falsify charges and try and ruin another man's life, one who was already down on his luck. First offenses for cops should be punished doubly hard as any other; they are held to a higher standard. Teachers, Doctors, etc, all get fired for offenses that would be no big deal in any other private industry because they're held to a higher standard as "professionals" but cops can commit violent crimes and then use their cop-abilities to COVER IT UP and are given first-offense leniency?

Furthermore we have no idea if this IS his first offense. Somebody needs to go through his records and verify that every. single. one was legitimate and not this sort of situation. People don't just snap and then create a cover up this smoothly unless they've done it before.

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but my first point still stands. There are evidentiary problems with trying a case with a homeless person, number one being it's tough to get them to show up to court.

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The case is over why won't the Transit Police release the video of the incident? Why won't they release the video of the homeless black man dragged off a bus at Forest Hills. That case is also over.

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The video of the black guy getting beat up by the Nazis in Copley Square

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The transit cops that are always eating breakfast at the Blue Star Dinner don't seem like psychos and yet evidence would lead me to believe they probably are.

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  • Probation despite being a violent criminal
  • Witness Intimidation not even considered
  • No punishment for the two accessories??
  • Allowed to retire from the job instead of being fired
  • No national registry of problem cops so can just go to some shithole in New Hampshire or the South and get hired as a cop again

The older I get the more I realize civilization would literally be safer with no cops.

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