Feds Charge MBTA Cop Over False Report Over Beating Of Homeless Man

RUTLAND, MA — A former MBTA police sergeant is facing federal charges for his role in the 2018 beating of a homeless man at a Red Line station in Boston, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.

David Finnerty, 47, of Rutland, was indicted on two counts of false report and arrested at his home Thursday morning, according to the FBI.

Prosecutors say Finnerty included "false and misleading statements and [omitted] material information" in reports to cover for the officer accused of carrying out the assault. Finnerty was previously charged over filing a false report in 2019 by a Suffolk County grand jury.

Transit Police officer Dorston Bartlett was indicted by the same jury in 2019 over the beating. He was sentenced to probation last year, according to reports. Bartlett beat the 32-year-old homeless man with his baton, and then charged the man with assaulting a police officer, prosecutors said. The beating took place at the Dorchester Ashmont station in July 2018.

"We believe Sgt. Finnerty not only failed to lead by example, but betrayed the trust placed in him by his fellow officers, and the public," FBI Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen said in a news release Thursday.

The charge of filing false reports can lead to a prison term up to 20 years, and a fine up to $250,000, federal prosecutors said.