BOSTON — A Massachusetts court on Thursday rejected an appeal from Boston’s embattled police commissioner, clearing the way for his firing after decades-old domestic violence allegations came to light.
An appeals court judge upheld a lower court ruling denying Police Commissioner Dennis White’s bid to block the city from firing him from the city’s top police post.
White was placed on leave in February, just days into the role, after The Boston Globe raised questions about allegations found in court documents that White pushed and threatened to shoot his then-wife, a fellow police officer. White has denied the allegations.
Acting Mayor Kim Janey applauded the ruling, saying “it is time to move the Boston Police Department in a new direction toward our vision of safety, healing, and justice.” Janey said she would immediately move forward to schedule a hearing to terminate White.
A lawyer for White said he respects the court’s ruling but again called on Janey to provide the “identity of who is making these false allegations against him and what their source of information is.”
“He asks for a public hearing where he can present his evidence with witnesses that prove he is innocent, he did not commit domestic violence and there is no cause to remove him as commissioner,” attorney Nick Carter said in an emailed statement.
In her decision, Appeals Court Justice Vickie Henry wrote that although White argues that the Superior Court must hold an evidentiary hearing prior to his removal, he doesn’t cite any authority for the argument.
“Moreover, I discern little likelihood of success in the Commissioner’s claim that he was deprived of due process,” Henry wrote.
An investigative report released by the city said witnesses alleged that White’s ex-wife was subjected to “physical and mental abuse.” Among the allegations included in the report is that White burned her hair, put her face to a stove and threw a television at her.
The report said White was also involved in what he described as a “heated fisticuffs” with a young woman in 1993. White admitted striking her with a full swing of his arm and open hand, but says he was acting in self-defense, the report said.
White denies abusing his ex-wife or ever threatening to shoot her. In an affidavit filed in court, White alleges that “she was looking for a financial advantage in the divorce and she got it.”