Revere Mayor Taking His Time: Revere Police Sergeant's Fate Undecided

Sergeant Evan Franklin (Christopher King Blogspot)

It has been more than a week since Revere Mayor Thomas Ambrosino stated that he would make his decision by this past week regarding Sergeant Evan Franklin's fate with the Revere Police Department. The decision comes following Franklin's behavior after the shooting of Daniel Talbot. On top of that, it has been three weeks since Revere Police Chief Terence K. Reardon sent a letter to the mayor suggesting that Franklin be fired (the chief would do it himself, but city bylaws state that only the mayor can terminate the employment of a police officer, the harshest punishment that the chief can dole out is a five day, unpaid suspension which he has already given Franklin.)

For those of you out of the loop, you can catch up here, and I would also suggest checking out KingCast's First Amendment page, as well, as he has been following the story as well. To make a long story short, Sergeant Evan Franklin, after leaving his department-issued firearm in the backseat of his colleague's unlocked car earlier in the evening, fled the scene of the shooting right after shots rang out. To make matter worse, Franklin flagged down an on-duty Revere cop, not to alert him to the fact that one of his colleagues had been shot, but to be driven home. When asked if everything was OK, Franklin replied in the affirmative.

Franklin got home, never called the police to let them know what happened, and then lied about his presence at the scene to State Police investigators. He has been on paid administrative leave since September 29, 2007. Chief Reardon recently suspended him for five days without pay, which Franklin thought was excessive and is fighting. He is also fighting his chief's dismissal suggestion (which he did by hiring business lawyer Neil Rossman.)

Given Franklin's actions, however, it seems that a dismissal would be a lucky outcome. Of course, this is not all of Franklin's story. Franklin resigned from the force two weeks before graduating from the police academy for his involvement in a hit and run with another cadet in 1995. Franklin re-joined the force in 1997 after going through the academy again (the man Franklin was with, Todd Randall, is now a patrolman.) So Franklin running from a scene is not a freak occurrence; he has a history of this.

Revere Mayor Thomas Ambrosino (Boston Globe)

So my question is this: what is taking Mayor Thomas Ambrosino so long? Is it really that hard of a decision? Let's assume that Ambrosino allows Franklin to stay on the force. Who the hell is going to want to partner up with him? Would anyone feel safe with Franklin as the person who is supposed to have their back on the beat? Additionally, if Ambrosino keeps Franklin on the force, what does this say to anyone who does this type of stuff? Is this behavior that, not only the mayor's office, but the people of Revere are going to tolerate? Is this acceptable behavior of a police officer who already has a tainted record? Is there something Ambrosino knows that we do not?

Everything about these procedures have been public - Chief Reardon's letter and the hearing about Franklin's fate. The facts that the news outlets have reported are (supposedly) all of the facts involving Franklin's involvement with this incident. Given these facts, the decision should be simple: Sergeant Evan Franklin should not be a police officer in Revere or elsewhere.