Former Stoughton Police Chief Named Interim Braintree Chief

BRAINTREE, MA — Braintree now has an interim police chief and a person who has been hired to reform the evidence room.

Mayor Joseph Sullivan announced Monday that Stoughton Police Chief Paul Shastany will serve as the interim chief following Russell Jenkins retirement on Friday. Former Boston Police Superintendent in Chief Daniel Linskey has been hired to create new policies and procedures for the evidence room.

“These two individuals possess a high level of integrity, professionalism, and expertise in the areas of management and police operations. Their individual experiences will be combined to move the Braintree Police Department forward in taking the corrective steps necessary to ensure that the Department meets the highest level of standards. The integrity of our police work and that of the criminal justice system cannot be questioned in the future as we instill the lessons learned from this painful experience,” Sullivan said in a release.

Shastany was named the Stoughton police chief in 2010, retiring in April of this year. Linskey is a managing director in Kroll’s Investigations and Disputes practice and formerly served as superintendent in chief of the Boston Police Department.

In recent weeks, the police department has been rocked by revelations that their evidence room was in disarray. In August, it was reported that an outside investigator was being brought in to audit the police department's evidence room, with a focus on cases from the past three years. In September, the audit concluded that 4,709 pieces of narcotics evidence, 60 firearms, 2,490 pieces of property evidence, and nearly $408,000 were missing. Twelve of the missing guns were recovered.

As a result of the audit, several criminal cases have been dismissed and Deputy Chief Wayne Foster has reportedly been placed on leave.

Sullivan is scheduled to update the town council on the evidence room at their meeting Tuesday.

Image via Stoughton Police Department