Boston Cop Who Wrote Fake Ticket During Stoneham Road Rage Incident Fired

BOSTON — A Boston police officer is off the job and has been sentenced to one year of probation after admitting to sending a fake traffic ticket to a driver following a road rage incident in 2019.

Christopher Curtis, 37, pleaded guilty to six charges related to the traffic ticket he wrote a man after the incident on I-93 in Stoneham, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said Friday.

As of Friday, Curtis is still on unpaid suspension and there is an open internal investigation.

On March 1, 2019, Curtis was involved in a road rage incident with another driver and ended up running the driver's license plate to send them a traffic citation with a fine of $790 with a threatening handwritten note, Hayden said.

Hayden said the note also "challenged the victim to try and fight the ticket."

When the driver tried to appeal the ticket in Woburn District Court, officials say they found several mistakes and irregularities with it. Massachusetts State Police and Boston police were notified, and Curtis was identified.

Hayden says Curtis initially denied his involvement but later admitted during an interview that he did write the ticket.

"When an officer abuses their authority, as Officer Curtis did in this case, we must ensure that they are held accountable for their offenses and for their breach of the community's trust," Hayden said. "This individual now stands convicted of felony offenses that bar him from acting as a member of law enforcement in the future."

Curtis pleaded guilty to six indictments charging forgery, uttering, false report by a public employee, obtaining criminal offender record information (CORI) under false pretenses, witness intimidation, and misleading an investigation.

Along with a year of probation, Curtis also has to pay the victim restitution of $525, which is how much they paid while trying to appeal the ticket in court, and he can never contact the victim.

Curtis' guilty plea on felony charges also means he can no longer work in law enforcement in Massachusetts, and the conviction will be reported to the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission and may impact Curtis' retirement benefits.