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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Massachusetts Ethics Commission has issued a public education letter to a Boston Police (BPD) officer accused of violating the state's conflict of interest law.
In the letter the Commission writes that James Clark, who has worked in the department for over two decades, violated the law by creating a false criminal complaint application for his friend's brother, an MBTA bus driver who "falsely told his boss that he had missed a day of work due to being arrested."
The criminal complaint application was never filed in court or entered in any BPD record system. After MBTA officials discovered the charges were fabricated, the driver admitted that he missed work because he overslept -- and resigned in July of 2016.
Clark agreed to the release of the Public Education Letter to resolve the allegations instead of opting for an adjudicatory hearing.
"[The Commission] determined the public interest would be better served by publicly discussing the application of the conflict of interest law to Clark's alleged actions," the Ethics Commission said.
Officials are expecting that by publicly sharing Clark's actions, public employees in similar circumstances will have a "clearer understanding of how to comply with the law."
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Written by Rachel Armany