Transit Police Superintendent Richard Sullivan and former Detective Lieutenant Green have accused District Attorney Kevin Hayden of retaliatory motives in his decision to dismiss charges against former Transit Police Officer John Finnerty, who was convicted last week by a federal jury for his role in falsifying a police report.
The jury found Finnerty guilty of aiding and abetting the filing of a false police report related to an unprovoked beating of homeless man Anthony Watson by fellow officer Dorston Bartlett in July 2018.
Following the jury’s verdict, Green characterized Hayden’s reasoning for not pursuing charges against Finnerty as unbelievable. He stated that Hayden’s explanations “simply do not pass the smell test,” further asserting that the federal jury’s decision “speaks for itself.”
In response, a spokesperson for Hayden asserted that Green’s claims were false and ridiculous, emphasizing that Hayden’s office was prepared to proceed with the case until the day before the trial when new evidence was provided by Transit Police.
This new evidence was said to be an exculpatory document—a computer record that outlined revisions Finnerty made to Bartlett’s report concerning the incident.
According to Hayden’s office, the revisions were minor and did not support the allegations that Finnerty had manipulated the report to justify excessive force used by Bartlett. Hayden’s spokesperson, James Borghesani, stated, “The federal prosecution had the benefit of a complete set of facts from the MBTA and a key cooperating witness, neither of which our office had,” defending the decision to drop the state charges.
However, Transit Police officials have refuted Borghesani’s claims, maintaining that they provided the same evidence that ultimately contributed to the federal jury’s guilty verdict.
Jurors found that on July 27, 2018, Finnerty, while serving as the duty shift supervisor, assisted Bartlett after he assaulted Watson with a baton. Finnerty knew, upon reviewing surveillance videos, that the use of force was excessive but still aided Bartlett in concealing the truth by helping him file a false report.
Watson, age 31, was wrongfully arrested by Bartlett on minor assault charges and requested video evidence to support his claims of excessive force during his detention.
During the trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Julien Mundele accused Finnerty of participating in a cover-up, stating that he facilitated the alteration of Bartlett’s report to include bogus claims of a perceived threat to justify the beating.
Evidence presented during the trial included findings from an FBI digital analysis of police documents that indicated Finnerty directed Bartlett in modifying his report multiple times.
Bartlett testified against Finnerty in the trial after pleading guilty in July 2022 to multiple charges, including assault and filing false reports regarding the incident involving Watson.
The case against Finnerty was initially established in March 2019 under Hayden’s predecessor, Rachael Rollins, who was Suffolk district attorney at the time. The charges against Finnerty included being an accessory to assault and battery and filing a false police report.
With the charges pending as of January 2022, Hayden was appointed to fill the vacant district attorney position and later won a competitive election for the role.
In an unexpected decision, Hayden’s office dismissed the charges against Finnerty in October 2022, citing the discovery of a computer record that they claimed did not implicate Finnerty. They maintained that while Finnerty did modify the report, he was not the originator of the false statements that were central to the allegations.
This dismissal led Green and Sullivan to express strong dissent against Hayden’s office, asserting that previously gathered evidence included in an FBI analysis supported the allegations against Finnerty.
After the federal jury’s ruling, Sullivan publicly expressed gratitude towards the jury for their verdict, stating that it was a “just verdict of guilty.” He also lauded the commitment and ethics of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston for pursuing the case against Finnerty in light of the earlier dismissal by state prosecutors.
Finnerty is now scheduled for a sentencing hearing on August 21, following his federal conviction.
image source from：https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/31/metro/transit-police-officer-convicted-suffolk-da-hayden-blasted/
