Race Not A Factor In Brookline Officer's Traffic Stop: Report

BROOKLINE, MA — Race was not a factor when an off-duty white officer pulled a gun on two black men earlier this summer after they sideswiped his truck on Route 9, according to a report released Thursday.

Lt. Paul Campbell of the Office of Professional Responsibility said Officer Stephen E. Burke, 24, who followed the other car and eventually pulled it over, should have turned the matter over to on-duty officers.

"Using police powers in something you are personally involved in can create the appearance of improper use of police authority for personal reasons," Campbell wrote in the 19-page report, which concluded that Burke violated department policy for use of force and for off-duty intervention.

Burke was suspended without pay indefinitely and could face other discipline, Patch reported Wednesday.

But Campbell accepted the statements of Burke and his girlfriend, who was with him at the time of the accident, that they did not see the occupants of the other car before Burke pulled them over.

"[Burke's] off-duty decision to pursue and stop a vehicle that had just hit his truck does not comply with Department Policy," Campbell wrote. "But it seems likely that Officer Burke would have conducted himself in the same way, regardless of what the occupants of the other vehicle looked like."

Campbell also noted that neither of the men in the other car said race was a factor in the stop. And when Campbell interviewed him, the driver said he didn't think Burke should be punished.

The report, from which the names of the car's occupants and other witnesses had been redacted, also said Burke reportedly pulling his gun before going over to other car and announcing that he was a police officer.

"If this is the case, then obviously race did not play a role, because Officer Burke would have made his decision prior to knowing the race of [the driver] and [the passenger]," Campbell wrote. "Beyond the statements of Officer Burke and [his girlfriend], there is no way to prove exactly what they did or didn’t know."

Campbell's report also noted that Burke started as a Brookline officer in 2016 after a year as a meter collector, during which time no one has lodged a complaint against him of any kind.

The timeline, with new info

According to reports from Officer Mike Keaveny and Sgt. Ilya Gruber, who were the first two Brookline officers to arrive, along with Burke's statement and Campbell's report, Burke was driving west on Route 9 near Norfolk Street when a BMW swerved into his lane, striking the passenger side of his 2018 Ford pickup. The two men in the BMW and one witness said both cars were changing lanes and bumped into each other.

"Well, that just ruined my day,” Burke told his girlfriend, according to Campbell's report.

Burke later told other officers that he had started to pull over to exchange paperwork with the BMW, but when the other driver kept going, passing through a red light and nearly hitting pedestrians, he decided to follow.

Campbell's report said Burke told his girlfriend to call 911, pulled off to the right side of the road and got out of his truck while the BMW was stuck in traffic in the left lane.

Burke said he drew his personal weapon because he was worried for his safety in the weeks after Weymouth Police Officer Michael Chesna was shot during a traffic stop. Burke said he identified himself to the men and behaved as if he were performing an on-duty traffic stop. By the time a state trooper arrived, he was holstering his weapon, according to the reports. The trooper and a Brookline police officer handcuffed the two men.

The transcript of a 911 call says Burke could be heard yelling at the men in the background to put their hands on the hood. His girlfriend told a dispatcher that she was worried about what was happening, but she did not specify why.

Burke told Campbell that he did not point the gun at anyone but held it in a "ready" position. He said the driver became argumentative, a shouting match began and the driver said to him at one point, “You’re going to have to shoot me, just shoot me.”

The driver denied saying this, according to Campbell's report.

"It would be reasonable for Officer Burke, who had just been hit by another vehicle that then fled the scene, to be angry," Campbell wrote. "This is precisely why an off-duty officer should defer enforcement of this type of incident to on-duty personnel."

The two men in the BMW also told police they pulled through the red light at the intersection at Hammond and Boylston because they were looking for a place to pull over and exchange papers. But in their reports, Gruber and Keaveney both noted inconsistencies in their stories that led them to issue citations for leaving the scene of a crash, running a red light and endangering pedestrians.

See the 19 page report and 15 more pages of addendum here:

Brookline Off Duty Officer Who Pulled Gun On Men Disciplined

Previously:

• Brookline Police Officers File New Lawsuit Alleging Racial Bias
• Brookline Cops Alleging Racial Bias Denied Paid Leave
• Former Firefighter's Racism Case Against Brookline Edges

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Photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch Staff