After months of tension between state and Boston police, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley is giving state police authority to investigating all homicides on public transportation vehicles and property, reports the Boston Globe. In a move that infuriated Boston police detectives, Conley reasserted state police jurisdiction over areas such as two beaches that had been disputed by city and state investigators in the past. “The State Police detective unit assigned to my office will now investigate all homicides that happen on state property,” he said.
Conley had warned he would consider putting state detectives in charge of city homicides after Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis shuffled his command staff and replaced the head of the homicide unit without consulting Conley. Davis defended the changes saying that he had put together a solid team. Mayor Thomas Menino said he backed Davis and suggested that Conley was out of touch with the crime occurring on city streets. Jack Parlon, president of the Boston Police Detectives Benevolent Society, said, “We’re not talking about jaywalkers here. We’re talking about homicides. Playing politics with it is just despicable. Me and my people are not going to sit for this. It’s a disgrace if that’s what he’s done.” Conley has 10 state detectives assigned to his unit who investigate homicides in the cities of Revere and Chelsea, which have many fewer homicides than Boston.
Link: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/09/13/suffolk_da_expands_state_police_duties/