The Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training database of police disciplinary actions includes details about disciplinary actions against four Andover police officers.
The database — unveiled Tuesday after two years in the making — includes more than 3,400 records of sustained complaints leveled against nearly 2,200 officers in Massachusetts since 1984. The Andover police officers had complaints sustained after “an investigation found a “preponderance of evidence to prove the allegation of an act that was determined to be misconduct,” POST said.
The database does not include retired police officers or complaints against officers that were ruled unfounded, but does include people who resigned or retired to avoid discipline. The most severe penalty meted out by the Andover Police Department was to Daniel Devine, who was suspended for 6-29 days in 2013 for conduct unbecoming while off duty.
In 2008, an Andover resident sued the Town for $400,000, claiming Devine’s police cruiser hit him as he shoveled snow. In his complaint, Christopher Lohan said Devine was driving too fast when he swerved across North Street, crashing into a snowbank and hitting him, according to court documents. At the time, police said he was not driving too fast but lost control of the vehicle on slippery roads.
The Town settled the lawsuit in May 2009.
Devine also had a role in the OUI charges against an Andover police officer in March 2013. Devine told dispatchers he was on break from a detail, then went to pick up former Andover police officer Evan Robitaille after he nearly hit a box truck on Interstate 495 and fled off an exit ramp, where witnesses who saw him in a Gulf station in Lowell said he appeared to be intoxicated. Lowell police towed his car to Elm Street Automotive and took Robitaille to a McDonald’s on Route 38, where he called Devine.
When Devine and Robitaille arrived at Elm Street, the service station’s owner called Andover Police Lt. Edward Guy, Guy met with Robitaille at the gas station and called former Chief Brian Pattullo. Current Chief Patrick Keefe, who was then a sergeant, went to the station and drove Robitaille home, telling him he would be placed on paid leave.
Robitaille resigned in November of that year after an internal investigation ended in October, and he was placed on unpaid leave. Lowell police officers were disciplined for handling how they handled the crash, and the department eventually charged Robitaille with OUI and other violations.
Other officers received 1-5 day suspensions
Andover police officer Sean O’Day was suspended 1-5 days in 2017 for an improper investigation and unsafe operation of a police vehicle, and again in 2021 for incompetence of duty. Steven Gerroir was suspended for 1-5 days in 2017 for failure to supervise and neglect of duty, and Brian Mackenzie received a 1-5 day suspension in 2018 for damaging department equipment and lack of cooperation in an investigation.
The Exchange Club of Lawrence named O’Day and MacKenzie officers of the year in 2017. The honor came before the incidents that led to their suspensions. “They are a shining example of the officers that serve Andover,” the department said in a Facebook post at the time.
In 2010, MacKenzie received a commendation during an Andover Select Board for saving a woman he found drunk, passed out in her driveway, and on the verge of hypothermia. MacKenzie had previously spoken to the woman about the loss of her pet and did extra checks of her home, knowing she was distraught.
Gerroir was promoted to sergeant in 2013 and heads the Town’s Community Service Program. In 2019, he was recognized for bringing miniature horses to Andover schools as part of an anti-bullying program.
The number of Andover police officers listed in the database was comparable to the number for similarly-sized municipalities and police departments. Police-reform advocates say the database does not include enough information about the infractions, while some law enforcement agencies have already complained it includes infractions that should not be labeled disciplinary actions.
The database’s creation was part of a 2020 police reform bill passed by the state legislature and includes disciplinary actions through Jan. 23.
Photo of Sean O’Day (middle) and Brian MacKenzie (right): Andover Police Department/Facebook.