Natick Cop Has Certification Suspended Following Guilty Plea

NATICK, MA — The Massachusetts POST Commission has suspended the certification of former Natick police officer James Quilty following his guilty plea on charges that he assaulted a 911 dispatcher over two years ago.

Quilty had recently resigned from the police department, according to WBUR. He pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent assault and battery and was then sentenced by a Middlesex County judge to three years of probation, registering as a sex offender and completing mental health and substance abuse evaluations, according to Middlesex DA Marian Ryan.

Read more: Natick Cop Sentenced On Charges He Assaulted Dispatcher

This latest move comes as part of the POST Commission's duty to suspend the certification of any officer who is arrested, charged or indicted for a felony. He was one of 15 law enforcement officers suspended by the commission on Tuesday.

Quilty assaulted a 28-year-old town dispatcher in April 2020 after a social gathering in a parking lot.

"On April 12, 2020 the defendant and the victim went to a gathering after work with other members of the Natick Police Department. At one point during the night the defendant inappropriately touched the victim against her will. He continued to touch her despite her attempts to move his hands away from her and to verbally tell him to stop. As the victim attempted to leave, the defendant also reached into her car and again inappropriately touched her and prevented her from leaving," the DA said in a news release.

Quilty was indicted in December 2021, and was suspended without pay in January. He entered into the guilty plea on Dec. 12 and resigned just days later ahead of a town council meeting in which his future was set to be discussed.