Brawling troopers worked in elite Suffolk DA squad

It’s the bar brawl seen round the region, and now Quincy police are investigating.

A video of a pair of Massachusetts State Police troopers went viral over the weekend after footage of their one-sided bar fight was posted on social media.

One of the troopers, the alleged aggressor, has been relieved of duty, according to Mass State Police.

Now, Quincy police are investigating the Friday fisticuffs, according to the Norfolk DA’s office.

“The Quincy Police are investigating this matter,” a spokesperson for the Norfolk DA’s office said in a statement on Monday.

Quincy Police Chief Mark Kennedy also confirmed that “the incident is currently under investigation by Quincy Police Detectives.”

The Herald has learned that both MSP troopers were assigned to the Suffolk DA’s office in the elite SPDU unit. The alleged victim in the bar pummeling has also been taken off that assignment while an investigation is ongoing.

The State Police Detective Unit is the investigative arm of the MSP where the officers probe murders to drug trafficking under the control of the district attorney’s office to which they are assigned.

The Herald has also learned the two bar-fight combatants were paid more than $200,000 and $143,000 last year, respectively. With the aggressor earning that top pay, state Comptroller records state. Their identities have not been officially released.

Many want to know the identities of these troopers, including Suffolk DA candidate Rachael Rollins, who has been hammering MSP in recent weeks amid a string of scandals.

“The Troopers work for DA (Kevin) HAYDEN!?” Rollins posted on social media. “And as usual, Hayden is hiding & silent. REALLY!?! These 2 DA’s Offices — Norfolk & Suffolk — punt MSP corruption cases back & forth, but all of their own Troopers are racist, sexist, corrupt, plant drugs on defendants, or throw hands for fun.”

Rollins had posted over the weekend: “Which Patrol Troop, Local Barracks or Specialized Unit are they in? Do they work for a DA (SPDU — Homicide, Narcotics, etc.), AG (SPU) or 4 the Governor (EPU)?

“WE NEED ANSWERS,” she added. “This happened in NORFOLK COUNTY! So DA MORRISSEY will likely deem the fight a suicide & close the case.”

The mention of “suicide” is a nod to the Sandra Birchmore case. Ex-Stoughton cop Matthew Farwell is accused of killing Birchmore, who was 23 and pregnant at the time.

Birchmore’s death in 2021 was initially ruled a suicide, and state prosecutors from the Norfolk DA’s office declined to bring charges against Farwell. The feds later charged Farwell.

In the wake of the troopers’ bar brawl, the Herald has been pressing Mass State Police for the identities of the troopers and their assignments.

“Due to the incident being under investigation, we have nothing further to release at this time,” a Mass State Police spokesperson said in a statement.

The fight was captured on video at the Reel House brewpub in Quincy.

In the video, the two troopers are seen sitting at the end of the bar. One of them, wearing a black shirt, walks over to the other man, who is wearing a white shirt. The seated man in the white shirt reaches out his arm in what appears to be an attempt to keep the black-shirt man away, but then the man wearing the black shirt throws a punch followed by four or five more and then grabs the man’s head in his hands.

The man in the white shirt appears limp as fellow bar patrons walk in to check on him, and the bartender covers her mouth in apparent shock.