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Former MBTA Transit Police sergeant found guilty of helping officer who assaulted man file false arrest report
The former sergeant, who was in charge of the officer, helped him draft a false arrest report after the officer assaulted a man at Ashmont Station.
A former MBTA Transit Police sergeant was found guilty of helping another officer file a false arrest report after he assaulted a man at Ashmont Station, federal prosecutors said.
David S. Finnerty, 49, of Rutland, was convicted on one count of aiding and abetting the filing of a false report, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said in an announcement Thursday. Finnerty was arrested in August 2023.
At about 2 a.m. on July 27, 2018, Officer Dorston Bartlett assaulted a man at the Ashmont MBTA station “without legal justification,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Bartlett later arrested the man after falsely telling Boston police officers that the man had assaulted him, according to court records.
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Finnerty, who was supervising Bartlett, helped him draft a false arrest report to impede a federal investigation into Bartlett’s “unconstitutional use of force,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Finnerty could face a sentence of up to 20 years in prison with up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
MBTA Transit Police did not respond to a request for comment Sunday evening.
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