MBTA Officers Indicted For Beating Of Homeless Man, Cover-Up

BOSTON, MA — A retired MBTA police officer accused of beating a homeless man with a baton in a train station and abusing him in a sham booking process was indicted Wednesday, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said. Two current sergeants accused of helping him cover it up were also indicted.

Dorston Bartlett, 65, of Lynn is charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, violating a person’s civil rights, misleading a police officer, and assault and battery. Prosecutors said Bartlett, who retired last year amidst an investigation, hit a 32-year-old homeless man multiple times with his baton at the Ashmont station in the early hours of July 27, 2018.

Bartlett arrested the homeless man after the assault and attempted to charge him with assault and battery on a police officer, prosecutors said. The officer also grabbed and pushed the man during the booking process, prosecutors said.

The man was released without charges when a member of Transit Police command staff found out about Bartlett's alleged force and reviewed public safety cameras and the preliminary draft of the arrest report. That also sparked the investigation into Bartlett, who prosecutors said gave false statements to two Boston Police officers who responded to the scene.

David Finnerty, 43, of Rutland and Kenny Orcel, 55, of Chelmsford were charged with making making a false report as a public officer or employee. They are also indicted as accessories after the fact to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon due to what prosecutors said was collusion among the three to create a false incident report.

The Suffolk County Grand Jury returned additional indictments charging Bartlett, Sergeant David Finnerty, 43, of Rutland and Sergeant Kenny Orcel, 55, of Chelmsford as accessories after the fact to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in connection to collusion to create a false incident report on Bartlett’s encounter with the homeless man after the assault.

"The conduct alleged in these indictments is unacceptable at every level," District Attorney Rachel Rollins said in a statement. "The charges reflect an unprovoked armed assault by a uniformed officer on a vulnerable member of our community, followed by a joint venture with supervising officers to cover up that crime."

Finnerty was the shift officer in charge and Orcel was the shift patrol supervisor during the incident. Both were placed on leave during the investigation.

"Words cannot express the extreme disappointment I have in the officers who violated the victim and the public’s trust in such an egregious manner," MBTA Police Chief Kenneth Green said in a statement. "However, I refuse to allow the corrupt actions of these individuals to tarnish the vast majority of the men and women of the Transit Police who day in and day out wear their badges and perform their duties with honor and integrity."