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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — A Boston Police Officer pleaded guilty Thursday to sending a fake traffic ticket to another driver after a road rage incident, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden.
Officer Christopher Curtis pleaded guilty to all six charges against him stemming from the incident, including charges for forgery, filing a false report, obtaining criminal offender record information under false pretenses, witness intimidation, and misleading an investigation.
With his guilty plea, Curtis was sentenced to one year of probation and is not allowed to contact the victim during that time. He also must pay the victim restitution of $525, which covers the fees the victim paid to fight the traffic ticket in court.
The original incident happened in March of 2019 when Curtis and an unidentified driver were involved in a road rage incident on I-93 in Stoneham. After this conflict, Curtis used his position within the Boston Police Department to look up the victim's license plate to identify them.
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Curtis then sent the victim a $790 ticket and a note telling them to fight the ticket in court. The victim appealed the traffic citation in Woburn District Court, which is where officials found several mistakes and other issues with the ticket.
The Boston Police Department Anit-Corruption Unit then opened up an investigation and identified Curtis as the man who faked and sent the citation. Curtis eventually admitted to detectives he wrote the note and the ticket, after previously denying his involvement.
“The public puts their trust in members of law enforcement with the expectation that they will use the power and authority of their position for the protection and betterment of the communities they are sworn to serve," DA Hayden said in a statement. "When an officer abuses their authority, as Officer Curtis did in this case, we must ensure that they are held accountable for their offenses and for their breach of the community’s trust.”
Since Curtis pleaded guilty, he will be added to the Suffolk County DA's Law Enforcement Automatic Discovery, which identifies any officers whose credibility as a witness has been called into question.
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