Mass State Police has reported the bar brawling troopers’ incident to the state’s disciplinary board, as local police investigate the viral incident.
The Mass State Police troopers — who were assigned to the Suffolk DA’s office in the elite SPDU unit — threw hands at the Reel House brewpub in Quincy over the weekend. The video of the fight is now all over the internet.
One of the troopers, the alleged aggressor, has been relieved of duty as Quincy police detectives investigate the altercation. The alleged victim in the bar pummeling has also been taken off that Suffolk DA assignment while an investigation is ongoing.
The Herald has now learned that Mass State Police has reported the investigation to the state’s disciplinary board.
“The Department has reported the investigation to the POST Commission, within two business days, as required by law,” an MSP spokesperson said in a statement.
The Herald reached out to the Massachusetts POST Commission (Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission) to see if the brawling troopers are still certified.
Both of the staties remain certified, as the process to revoke or suspend an officer’s certification can take some time.
“… The POST Commission cannot confirm or deny the existence of any investigation and cannot comment on matters that may be pending,” a POST Commission spokesperson said in a statement.
“An officer who is arrested, charged, or indicted for a felony will have their certification suspended immediately,” the commission’s website reads. “The Commission may also suspend certification after a preliminary inquiry if an officer is charged with a misdemeanor that affects fitness to serve, or if suspension is deemed in the public interest.”
Quincy Police have not arrested or charged the alleged aggressor in the bar brawl.
Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies must submit credible complaints/incidents to POST within two business days.
“Reports due to POST include any incident that results in discipline, an internal affairs investigation, or any allegations of prohibited conduct,” the POST Commission website reads.
This conduct includes unprofessional conduct, which can involve conduct unbecoming, prohibited conduct, incompetence or unfitness for duty. Excessive use of force complaints are also under this conduct umbrella.
While the Herald has confirmed the staties’ names, their identities have not been released by Mass State Police amid the ongoing investigation.
The Herald has learned that both MSP troopers were assigned to the Suffolk DA’s office in the elite SPDU unit.
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. The alleged aggressor earned that top pay, state Comptroller records show.
In the viral 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.
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