Revere Sgt.’s conduct in question

REVERE – Revere Police Sergeant Evan Franklin was the subject of a disciplinary hearing Wednesday at Revere City Hall, where the mayor, police chief and a police captain were in attendance to determine the embattled officer’s fate.Franklin was informed that a hearing into his conduct would take place after he received a letter from Police Chief Terence Reardon dated April 4. Reardon recommended to Mayor Thomas Ambrosino that a hearing be held to discuss violations allegedly committed by Franklin on the night of Sept. 28 and the morning of Sept. 29, 2007, the day Officer Daniel Talbot was murdered behind Revere High School.Reardon alleges in his letter that Franklin “ran from the scene” after Talbot was shot in the head.Talbot, 30, was killed after an alleged confrontation with Revere youths Derek Lodie and Robert Iacoviello around 1:30 a.m. Sept. 29.Reardon added that Franklin left his unloaded department-issued firearm, with its ammunition nearby, unattended in the rear of another officer’s private vehicle as he, Talbot, Talbot’s fiancé Connie Bethell and other officers dined and drank alcohol at Margarita’s restaurant on American Legion Highway hours earlier. This action was a criminal violation, Reardon wrote.After the group left the restaurant, they allegedly walked across the street to the school baseball field with a pack of beer and continued drinking.”The gun remained unattended while you and others retired to the rear of Revere High School and continued drinking alcohol in public,” Reardon wrote. “You did nothing, as the ranking and senior member of this group of officers, to discourage the public consumption of alcohol.”Reardon said Franklin did nothing to help Talbot after he was shot.”When Talbot went down, Officer (William) Soto returned fire and you ran from the scene. You took no action to observe what was occurring or to offer medical assistance. You took no action to summon police or medical personnel to the scene,” Reardon wrote. “Officer Danny Talbot died later that day.”After Franklin ran away, he flagged down on-duty Officer Robert Impemba who was responding to the shooting scene. Franklin allegedly asked Impemba to drive him home.”Instead of telling him about the incident, you used your position as a sergeant to get into his police cruiser and direct him to drive you partway home,” Reardon wrote. “As a result, Officer Impemba diverted from the direct route of response.”Impemba allegedly had to assist Franklin out of the back seat when he dropped him off on Broadway.”?He had to get out of the cruiser to let you out of the back seat. When asked by him if everything was okay, you replied, ‘Yup, see ya later,'” Reardon wrote.”You failed to report to Officer Impemba any information about the circumstances of the incident, or even that you had been present.”Franklin referred all questions to his attorney, Neil Rossman, when reached by phone Tuesday afternoon.Rossman says Franklin suffered from post-traumatic stress and was in a state of shock after the shots were fired.”He was impaired and suffering from post-traumatic stress,” Rossman said. “It’s true that when there was a shooting that he ran from the area. He never denied it.””Unless you’ve been in a situation with a near-death experience, in this case a gun fight without a gun, you can’t judge,” Rossman said.Rossman says Franklin, Talbot and Soto began walking toward Lodie, Iacoviello and other youths anticipating a fistfight after verbal taunts were exchanged.”They were lured into the killing zone,” Rossman said. “When the shooting started, Franklin was the only one who didn’t have a weapon.”Rossman denied much of the accusations leveled against his client.”He did have his weapon in the truck, but he was next to the truck,” Rossman responded when asked about Franklin’s unattended firearm.When asked if it was true that Franklin ordered Impemba to drive him home following the shooting, Rossman responded, “He didn’t order him as a sergeant. He asked him for a