Second Student Alleges Abuse

In the wake of a Harvard junior’s recent allegations that a Boston Police Department (BPD) sergeant beat him up, another charge of improper conduct against officers from the same Brighton police station has emerged: UMass-Boston undergraduate Matthew E. Cole and his lawyer, John Swomley, say they are preparing to file charges against BPD in response to a black eye Cole allegedly suffered in a police raid of a party at his home.

Cole, 24, was arrested the morning of Aug. 18 with each of his four roommates for “keeping a disorderly house” and “disturbing the peace.” They were taken to the Brighton station together in a BPD paddy wagon. Cole alleges that he got a black eye because officers purposely “slammed the gas pedal like we were on a drag strip and later slammed the brake,” causing him to be thrown around in the back with the other prisoners.

In addition to the claim of physical abuse, Cole claims he was verbally harassed during the arrest.

Cole’s charges, coming about two months after Trombly alleged a BPD sergeant assaulted him, shine a brighter spotlight on a department already conducting an internal investigation of Trombly’s claims.

Sgt. Harry A. Byrne Jr., the officer Trombly claims beat him, was not involved in Cole’s arrest. Two other officers from the Brighton station signed Cole’s arrest report.

District 14 Capt. William B. Evans said that “there’s no safety in [paddy wagons]. You get bounced around in there no matter what.”

In the official complaint, police reported that they arrived after being notified of a loud party. Officers said they saw several people on the front porch and second floor “causing a disturbance.”

Swomley said that at the time, Cole was actually sleeping in bed with his girlfriend. When the officers entered, Swomley said, Cole was awoken and arrested.

Cole also claims that while he was being placed in the wagon, police grabbed his roommate Daniel C. Taylor, 23, of Andover, by the front of his shirt and threw him against the side of the police cruiser.

Cole also claims that the night after the arrests, officers returned in response to reports of a gun in the apartment but then did not search the entire duplex. Swomley maintains that this indicates that the report was either fabricated or was not taken seriously by the officers.

Swomley also alleges that for several weeks after the complaint at the arraignment, squad cars would drive by Cole’s residence with lights flashing and sirens sounding.

Swomley, Cole’s lawyer, also represents Tom Davis, the Boston College junior who claims to have witnessed Garett Trombly’s beating Sept. 9.

The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office recently dropped all charges against Davis, as well as his high school friend Trombly, after determining that “sufficient evidence does not exist to allow the Commonwealth [of Massachusetts] to sustain its burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.” Trombly and Davis were originally charged with drinking in public and resisting arrest, among other counts.

Since the dismissal, Swomley has said that Davis may pursue a civil suit, while Trombly’s attorney, Andrew Good, has not officially filed any charges against BPD for the broken jaw his client allegedly suffered at the hands of Sgt. Harry A. Byrne Jr.

BPD has launched an internal affairs investigation into Trombly’s allegations.

Evans said Byrne has been transferred to a lighter duty situation, and that his gun has been taken away—a typical response to police brutality allegations.

BPD spokesperson Mariellen Burns declined to comment. Byrne could not be reached, and the BPD Internal Affairs Division also refused comment.

“We’re taking [Trombly’s allegations] very, very seriously,” Evans said. “And hopefully the truth will come out.”

“[Byrne] very well could have overstepped his authority,” Evans said. “If that’s what Sergeant Byrne did, he gets what he deserves. I don’t think anyone deserves [Trombly’s injuries], if that is what happened.”

Evans said that Byrne was “taken off the streets” at the end of September, as the department immediately began investigating Trombly’s claims.

Evans said he heard about the charges when other officers noticed television coverage of Trombly’s claims, which Good voiced at the Sept. 10 arraignment.

Similarly, Swomley made his accusations known at Cole’s Aug. 21 arraignment. Swomley and Cole are waiting for the necessary police affidavits before filing an official complaint, they said.

Officer Michael Estepe and Officer Raymond A. Bowen signed Cole’s arrest report. BPD spokesperson Mariellen Burns said she was not aware of Cole’s allegations.

“Listen, we’re going to get beat up [with allegations] by the kids,” Evans said. “We’re not by any means anti-student. We’re just trying to maintain a quality of life for residents.”

—Staff writer Justin D. Gest can be reached at gest@fas.harvard.edu.