Boston Mayor Kim Janey Fires Police Commissioner Over Allegations Of Domestic Abuse
After allegations of domestic violence, acting Boston Mayor Kim Janey fired Boston Police Commissioner Dennis White. He is now speaking out.
According to CBS Boston, after announcing his firing on June 7, Janey, the first Black mayor of Boston, stated during a news conference, “Dennis White has repeatedly asserted that the domestic violence allegations against him are false, but he stated in his hearing and during the investigation that he has hit and pushed members of his household. The allegations and evidence of this behavior raised serious questions about his fitness to lead the Boston Police Department.”
She also added, “It is a new day. We have a new vision for policing in Boston. We have to reimagine policing; we have to make sure that there is accountability and transparency.”
White’s attorney, Nick Carter, said in a statement, “He is a Black man, falsely accused of crimes, not given a fair trial or hearing, and then convicted, or terminated which is the equivalent here. This reflects an ugly pattern in our country. The Acting Mayor published the report and communicated that Dennis White was guilty of the allegations and needed to go, without pausing to evaluate the obvious flaws in the report. She destroyed a good man’s name and livelihood in the process.”
White has been the commissioner since February 1, 2021 but was placed on leave on February 3, 2021 after allegations were raised from his ex-wife, Sybil Mason, that he abused her.
According to The Washington Post, the allegations, which date back to the 1990s, come from his ex and other family members. Between 1998 and 1999, Mason claimed White “threatened to shoot her, slept with a gun, physically abused her and made her ‘very scared.,” The Washington Post reports. An investigation revealed that White kept a journal during the marriage, gave it to a relative who told investigators that Mason said, “If anything happens to me, I want you to have this diary. … If anything happens to me, it would be Dennis.”
Mason also alleged White left a scar on her wrist after”being dragged out the door.”
Dennis White and Sybil Mason were married from 1981 to 1999.
The Washington Post reports an independent investigation “sustained a finding for neglect of duty and unreasonable judgment, but determined that White had not broken any laws.
White was also accused of a 1993 physical altercation with his niece over $10, however, he maintained he was acting in self-defense.
