Police Chief to Globe: Video Incident ‘Makes Us Look Like Rogues’
Nearly a week ago a Medford police officer made national headlines following a videotaped encounter in which he verbally assaulted a wrong-way driver.
Medford Police Chief Leo Sacco recently spoke to The Boston Globe, saying, in part: “This incident makes us look like a bunch of rogues who don’t have their act together. We’re so much better than that.’’
Chief Sacco made the comments to Globe columnist Thomas Farragher. He also said the incident sets the force back “tremendously,” and “this is not what we’re about.”
Chief Sacco also said there have been complaints about the officer, Stephen LeBert, for being rude and a bully. Sacco said he can’t condone or justify LeBert’s behavior, and he feels as though he let LeBert and the whole profession down by not “correct[ing] the action that led to what happened on Sunday night.”
The Chief’s full commentary is available in Farragher’s column.
– InsideMedford.com
The cops who came to the scene after the call at the end of the video, were very professional and a calming force to the scene, so the only two people who should feel like rogues are LeBert who should be fired and Saco who should start thinking about retirement soon.
Actions speak louder than words. Chief Sacco gave us all some nice lip service in the Farragher article after previously extolling Lebert as a good cop. Everyone is watching now. You can’t wait out the media storm and then sweep it under the rug. You can’t spin the story and blame the victim. You and the mayor are accountable. Your actions will demonstrate your sincerity. The nepotism in Medford city government is outrageous.
The site keeps deleting my comment.. Must not like the fact that I won’t accept the lip service from chief Sacco. Actions speak louder than words. It is one thing to take responsibility in the paper and ride out the media storm it is entirely another to actually be accountable and take action.
Dshea, comments automatically go into moderation before being posted to keep spam from the site. There is always going to be a lag before they are posted. That being said, there have been times when InsideMedford.com has not posted comments that contain excessive profanity and/or personally attack an individual without the commenter revealing his/her identity. InsideMedford.com retains the right to edit comments or not post them at all. More details about InsideMedford.com’s comments policy are on our About page.
Allison does a good job of editing, that is appreciated. This is a tough one as Chief Sacco is likeable but has, clearly, made the wrong choices. DShea clarifies the obvious problem with the Chief saying LeBert is a good cop, and an effective cop. Whitey Bulger was an effective informant but the FBI should never have made a deal with him, for obvious reasons. Mr. LeBert shouldn’t carry a gun if he can fly off the handle so easily, or allegedly high beam and tailgate a driver before threatening him. Just past February there was the Officer Shawn Norton DUI/leaving the scene/hit and run/allegations, then in 2013 the incident with Officer Miguel Lopez allegedly lying to investigators about a murder, then Officer Jimmy Lee’s domestic violence incident in 2011. There are some excellent men and women on the Medford Police force and it is an insult to the majority of good police officers to have our beloved chief turn a blind eye to misconduct. The chief is popular, but – sadly – he needs to fire LeBert and then resign. Four incidents is four too many, and what isn’t mentioned is the Channel 5 piece on Officer Alan Doherty last February. Massachusetts, and now the nation, sees only the bad stories.