NORTHAMPTON — A police lieutenant who has been on leave since September violated in-house policies on how the contents of the department’s prescription drug drop box are handled, Chief Jody Kasper said Wednesday.
Two investigations found no evidence that Lt. Alan Borowski committed any criminal offenses, Kasper said.
An external investigation found that Borowski violated polices related to access to the drop box and how its contents are processed. An internal investigation found “additional workplace rules had been violated,” according to a statement from Kasper, who declined to elaborate on what other rules had been broken.
“Ultimately, it was determined that Lt. Borowski had made an error in judgment and failed to comply with the department policies regarding the drop box, evidence and property handling procedures, and properly documenting the circumstances of the event,” Kasper said in a statement.
Borowski has been on paid administrative leave since Sept. 18. Allegations of misconduct by Borowski were presented to Kasper in August. Attempts to reach Borowski for comment Wednesday were unsuccessful.
At the time of the incident, Borowski was head of the department’s detective bureau. He also oversaw property and evidence in police possession and was one of only a few officers in the department who had access to that room, according to Kasper.
Once an investigation began, Kasper wrote, she placed Borowski on leave because she wanted to be sure the department could conduct an “effective and detailed investigation.”
An outside agency — APD Management of Tewksbury — conducted the investigation into the drop box allegations. According to Kasper, Borowski had placed pills related to an overdose in another community into the drop box, and then later decided they constituted evidence.
“He returned to the drug drop box, retrieved the pills, created a report, and entered them as property/evidence,” Kasper wrote.
When completing the report, Borowski omitted information about the pills having been placed in the box, according to Kasper. In her statement Wednesday, Kasper wrote that “An individual entering this box on their own and removing a single item would be in violation of department policy.”
At the same time APD Management was conducting its investigation, a complete audit of the department’s narcotics property and evidence was completed.
“Although we believed that this was an isolated incident that was limited to the drop box, and we had no reason to believe that Lt. Borowski had in any way compromised the integrity of our evidence control room, we wanted to be sure,” Kasper wrote. “All drugs were accounted for and it was determined that there had been no tampering or theft of narcotics.”
Additional allegations of policy violations regarding workplace practices were investigated by Police Capt. Dorothy Clayton who determined other workplace rules had been violated, according to Kasper.
On Wednesday afternoon, Kasper said a return date had not been set for Borowski but that it would be soon. When he returns, Borowski will serve as a patrol lieutenant. Lt. Craig Kirouac, a 25-year veteran with the department, was chosen last week to lead the detective bureau.
Both investigations determined that no criminal offenses occurred and Kasper said Wednesday that Borowski removing pills from the drug box was “isolated to one single event.”
Kasper would not say if any disciplinary action had been taken against Borowski for the violations. She has previously said that being placed on paid leave is not a form of discipline.
“Lt. Borowski has an impeccable performance record at NPD and has been tirelessly dedicated to the department and to the City of Northampton,” Kasper wrote. “I am confident in his ability to continue to serve this community with professionalism and dedication.”
Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.