REVERE – Where is Revere Police Sgt. Evan Franklin?The question has been on everyone’s mind since the early morning of Sept. 29, 2007, when Franklin and two other officers witnessed the murder of fellow police officer Daniel Talbot.Franklin and patrolmen William Soto, 31, and Stacey Bruzzese, 32, along with Talbot’s fiancée Connie Bethell, 28, were drinking alcohol on the field behind Revere High School when Talbot, 30, was fatally shot.Four people are charged in connection with the homicide so far.All three officers were placed on paid administrative leave, which authorities called routine, in the weeks following Talbot’s death.But while Soto and Bruzzese were allowed back to work within a month of the shooting, Franklin still remains on paid administrative leave more than three months since Talbot’s death.When asked why in a telephone interview Wednesday, Revere Police Chief Terence Reardon implied that Franklin’s leadership role as a sergeant holds him to a higher standard than the other officers.When asked if Franklin’s absence was connected to Talbot’s murder, Reardon replied, “There’s no question about it.”Reardon declined to talk about rumors that Franklin ran away from the field, leaving the remaining officers and Bethell to fend for themselves, after Talbot was shot.”We’ll leave them at the rumor basis until such a time it’s brought forward,” he said.According to the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office, the group was approached by three men, two of whom were later identified as Derek Lodie, 17 and Robert Iacoviello Jr., 20 when Iacoviello began firing from a 9 mm handgun. Talbot reached for his gun before he was struck in the head while Soto returned fire with several shots, investigators said. Bruzesse held Bethell on the ground until the shooting was over, authorities added.State Police made no mention of Franklin being at the scene of the crime in investigation reports made public. A police source told the Item in the days following the shooting that Franklin was found by State Police a few blocks away after running from the scene. Revere Police Capt. Dennis Collyer confirmed in late October that Franklin was with the group during the shooting.Reardon wouldn’t discuss specifics about why Franklin is still on paid administrative leave, but says Franklin, Soto and Bruzzese may soon face disciplinary action for possible misconduct in the events leading up to Talbot’s death, most notably drinking alcohol in public.The most serious punishment a local police chief can take against an officer, Reardon says, is a five-day suspension. More severe discipline, including termination, must be handed out by Mayor Thomas Ambrosino and such action might come soon.Ambrosino told the Item Thursday that punishments could be handed down within the next 60 days.Reardon says he plans to make a recommendation on punishments for the three officers to the mayor’s office once a grand jury has heard all of the evidence on the homicide. If he decides to discuss his recommendations, he won’t speak about them publicly until then, he said.”We are waiting until all the facts have been brought forward through the process of the grand jury,” Reardon said. “We will shortly be addressing all of those issues regarding internal personnel matters.”However, a problem that might arise in presenting those recommendations is that certain information could be sealed by the grand jury, the chief said.Reardon reiterated that Franklin must be held to a higher standard of professional conduct.”In regard to his position as a supervisor on the scene, there are some issues that need to be addressed there,” Reardon said. “To be perfectly frank, there are some personnel issues as to what the department requires for personnel to be manning the department.”Reardon added that Franklin being on paid administrative leave after an event like Talbot’s murder is “standard operating procedure” for a local police department in Massachusetts and he wishes the process could be fa