Eyeing 'New Direction' Janey To Decide Police Commissioner's Fate

BOSTON — Acting Mayor Kim Janey will make a decision whether to fire embattled Police Commissioner Dennis White "after careful deliberation," she said after a Wednesday morning hearing between the two.

"I held the hearing for Dennis White this morning, providing an opportunity for him to present any additional information," Janey said in a brief statement. "I will make a decision after careful deliberation."

The hearing was closed to the public.

Janey said in a Tuesday interview on GBH's "Boston Public Radio" she was intending on moving the police department "in a new direction," even as additional information continues to come out.

White's family recently said in video affidavits he was a victim, not the abuser, in a former marriage to another Boston cop. Janey told GBH she was considering those videos.

"We will make a determination based on all of the information," Janey said. "The purpose of this hearing, though, is to move in a new direction."

White also revealed Tuesday former mayor Marty Walsh knew about the 1999 domestic abuse allegations against him when he appointed him commissioner. White's attorney had unsuccessfully argued in court that the city could not fire him for something it already knew.

Walsh, who shortly after appointing White left to become U.S. labor secretary, has repeatedly denied knowing about the allegations.

White has been on leave for four months after an explosive Boston Globe report detailed domestic violence allegations against him from 1999. He served just two days as commissioner before being placed on leave.

A decision on whether to fire White will not end the saga, which could come to define Janey's term as acting mayor. White could sue the city if he fired, and Janey still must appoint a replacement — though there is some debate about whether she has the authority to appoint a permanent commissioner or just an interim one until the mayoral election this fall.

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