By Sean Cotter Globe Staff, Updated July 31, 2023, 9:30 a.m.
Boston’s police watchdog agency broke new ground at its meeting this month: Two years after it was first created and after receiving more than 200 citizen complaints, the Office of Police Accountability and Transparency’s Civilian Review Board sustained an allegation against a police officer.
Even then, the finding — which took issue with the department’s practice of publicly identifying children who have been killed — was almost immediately rejected by Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox.
“Based on my review of this investigation, the employees involved acted in accordance with the Department’s Rules and Procedures,” Cox said in a July 20 letter to the agency. He concluded, “I will not be implementing the recommended finding and disciplinary action.”