SAUGUS — Town Manager Scott Crabtree said today he has no knowledge that any Saugus Police Department personnel took part in last week’s storming of the U.S. Capitol building that left six people — including a capitol police officer — dead.
CBS Boston reported Friday night that, according to its sources, investigators were looking into whether officers with both the Saugus and Boston Police Departments were involved in the Jan. 6 riots.
Crabtree said he and the police department would look into the reports further. The Item has not been able to reach the Saugus Police Department for comment.
“It’s troubling to think that a police officer would be in the middle of what happened down there,” former Boston Police Commissioner and WBZ security analyst Ed Davis told the station Friday.
According to the news source, Boston Police are also conducting an internal investigation after tweets written by a Boston officer that were critical of Vice President Mike Pence caught the department’s attention.
Some of the alleged tweets made by the officer under the reported alias “mailbox Joe” said “I will definitely be there January 6th,” and “Dear fake news media. When half the country can see the truth that the election was a coup then it isn’t a conspiracy. It is now a pretty wildly accepted fact.”
It’s unclear what may have led to an investigation of any Saugus officers.
Davis told CBS Boston that the law makes it clear officers have a responsibility to maintain the public’s trust, even when exercising free speech.
“If they exercise their right to free speech but say things that would destroy the trust with the community, they can be terminated,” Davis said.
Supporters of President Donald Trump carried out the attack against the 117th United States Congress in an attempt to prevent lawmakers from certifying the results of the 2020 election.
Earlier this week, Boston Police Commissioner William Gross warned during a press conference with federal agents that there would be consequences for any officers discovered to have been involved in the rampage.
“Any and all people have the right to exercise their First Amendment rights,” Gross said. “But if you violated the same team that I just mentioned here, we will hold you accountable and you will be brought to justice.”
The FBI, which is conducting the investigation into the riots at the Capitol, could not confirm or deny an investigation into any Boston or Saugus officers at the time of publication.
