No Jail For Police Officer After Drunk Assault On Uber Driver

BOSTON, MA — The off-duty police officer convicted of beating up a ride-share driver while hurling racial epithets at him three years ago in drunken rage that involved him chasing the driver around the car and then driving it away without permission, avoided jail time Tuesday after a judge sentenced him to probation instead.

Michael Colin Doherty, 43, was convicted earlier this month on two counts of assault and battery for striking a 28-year old Revere man working as an Uber Driver in the early morning of Jan. 4, 2015.

Jurors also convicted Doherty, who was an off-duty Boston Police officer at the time, of assault and battery for purposes of intimidation, reflecting his use of racial and ethnic slurs during the confrontation, and use of a motor vehicle without authority for driving several blocks in the victim’s car.

But Doherty will not get prison time for that, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley announced.

At a sentencing hearing today, Suffolk prosecutors recommended 2 ½ years in a house of correction, with six months to serve up front and the balance suspended for a five-year probationary term. As conditions of that probationary term, prosecutors further recommended orders that Doherty remain alcohol-free, submit to random screenings for alcohol, undergo an anger management program, perform 100 hours of community service, and other conditions. If Doherty re-offended or failed to comply with any of those orders, the suspended sentence would allow a judge to impose the remaining two years behind bars.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Linda Giles declined to impose jail time, instead sentencing Doherty to three years of probation with orders to remain alcohol-free, submit to random alcohol testing, perform 100 hours of community service at the Greater Boston Food Bank, complete an anger management program, and stay away from the victim and his family. If Doherty re-offends or fails to comply with any of the judge’s orders, she could re-sentence him to up to the maximum penalty – a five-year prison sentence for assault and battery for purposes of intimidation.

“The defendant’s conduct has no place in law enforcement, on or off the job,” Conley said. “It was an unprovoked crime against the victim, who was only trying to do his job, and it was a slap in the face to countless police officers who approach their duties with integrity and professionalism. As this indictment and verdict made clear, Suffolk prosecutors take these cases seriously. No victim or survivor of racially-motivated violence should ever be reluctant to report it.”

During three days of trial, Suffolk prosecutors assigned to the DA’s Special Prosecutions Unit introduced evidence and testimony proving that Doherty took an Uber car from Charlestown to South Boston, where he told the driver they were in the wrong location and used a racial epithet in the verbal exchange that followed. The evidence proved that Doherty struck the victim, who exited the vehicle to escape the assault; Doherty then exited and chased him around the vehicle.

As the victim flagged down a passing car driven by another Uber driver, Doherty entered the victim’s 2005 Toyota Prius and drove away, prosecutors said. The victim entered the second Uber car and the two men followed Doherty until he stopped and exited the vehicle at East 1st Street and Farragut Road. There, Doherty continued to use racial and ethnic slurs in a second physical confrontation.

Doherty then left the scene. Massport Police arrived on scene seconds later and searched the area but were unable to locate the defendant, who later surrendered to Boston Police. He was arraigned the next day in South Boston Municipal Court and indicted three months later after prosecutors put the case to the Suffolk County Grand Jury.

Doherty is currently suspended without pay from the police force, according to reports.

Police Officer Convicted For Off-Duty Racially Motivated Assault

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Photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch