Black Officer Passed Over For Promotion Suing Foxborough PD

FOXBOROUGH, MA — A black Foxborough police officer has filed lawsuits against the town and the Foxborough Police Department after claiming that she's been passed over for a promotion three times.

Officer Val Collins, a six-year veteran of the force, was not selected for promotion despite earning the second highest score on the promotional Civil Service exam, Larry Ellison, president of the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers and Boston Police detective, told the Sun Chronicle.

“There would be outrage if (Chief William Baker) bypassed a white male and promoted her with a lower score,” Ellison told the newspaper.

Ellison claims that a white male officer with lower scores was picked over Collins for a promotion to sergeant. In a meeting with Ellison, Baker, and Town Manager Bill Keegan, Baker and Keegan maintained that the promotions process was done properly.

The selectmen have been made aware of the issue, but are taking a hands-off approach.

Ellison suggested that Collins may not have been selected for a promotion because she lacked as much time in the department as the other officers. In recent years, Collins, a mother of four, has taken maternity leave, which Baker didn't seem happy about, according to emails seen by Ellison.

Baker, Keegan, and selectmen Chairman Chris Mitchell all declined comment.

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