MBTA Brass Ignored Warning Signs On Wilmington Resident, Ex-MBTA Police Officer: Report

WILMINGTON, MA -- MBTA officials ignored repeated warnings about the conduct of Jennifer Garvey, 35, of Wilmington, the former MBTA Transit Police officer serving a six-month sentence for assaulting a bystander who tried to intervene for her treatment of an intoxicated woman. The Boston Globe reported Sunday that a consultant's report raises troubling questions about the role of the MBTA's leadership in handing Garvey, an Army veteran with three tours of duty in Afghanistan.

In it's report, New Hampshire-based Municipal Resources Inc. said leadership at the transit police agency ignored 11 formal complaints about her use of excessive force between the time she was hired in 2008 and March 14, when Garvey squirted pepper spray in the face of Mary Holmes of Roxbury, who was calling 911 to complain about Garvey's treatment of an intoxicated woman. Video shows that Garvey and her partner knocked Holmes to the ground and beat her with a baton before handcuffing her and leaving her bruised and bleeding from a cut in her shin.

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The consultant’s report concluded there were “numerous weaknesses, omissions, and deviations from industry best practice” in the MBTA’s internal review of the complaints against Garvey. The Globe, which obtained the report through a public records request, said Garvey was turned down for employment at the Worcester Police Department and only hired by the MBTA over the objections of Lieutenant James Witzgall, who later said the agency was being pressured to hire more female officers.

Garvey was arrested again less than a year after the incident with Holmes and charged with assault and battery on a family or household member and assault with a dangerous weapon. That incident came after Garvey and her spouse had a few drinks at a Wilmington restaurant and news about the killing of two New York City police officers in December of 2014 triggered a post-traumatic stress episode.

For more on this story, see the Boston Globe.

Patch file photo.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).