WORCESTER – Internal investigations of the city police officer awaiting sentencing for assaulting a shackled prisoner in a holding cell show that several of his colleagues, including at least one superior, appeared aware of the assault but did not report it.

“Why didn’t he knock him out?” the report quotes a booking officer, Wilfred Lamothe, as saying repeatedly to his left and then his right shortly after the now-convicted officer, Michael J. Motyka, exited the holding cell on Dec. 1, 2014.

Standing to the left of the desk that morning, several officers told internal investigators, was Sgt. Bartholemew Walsh.

The report drew many of its conclusions from a video that covered the area outside the cell but not inside the cell. The video shows that a second sergeant, identified by investigators as Francis Cummings, walked into the recorded booking area seconds after Officer Motyka stated, “Alright mouth, you’ll be the first one I shoot" in response to threats and insults the prisoner made after the assault.

None of the officers reported the assault; it was discovered after Hector E. Pineiro, a lawyer who frequently sues the city alleging police brutality, filed a complaint on behalf of the prisoner, Gerald Jones.

Officer Lamothe and both sergeants retired while the internal probe was ongoing. The officer who witnessed part of the assault, Jeffrey B. Toney, remains with the department after signing a “last chance” agreement that stipulated he testify against Mr. Motyka.

“Hands up, don’t …” Officer Toney exclaimed at one point after the assault when the prisoner — who, like Officer Toney, is black — accused him of betraying his race.

“Ya don’t forget the hands up, I didn’t do anything. I was innocent,” Officer Motyka, who is white, echoed moments later as the prisoner yelled obscenities at him from the holding cell.

Mr. Motyka was arrested April 9, 2015, in connection with the assault. He was convicted of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (shod foot) June 8, 2017.

Mr. Jones, who was not seriously injured, settled his claim out-of-court with the city for $225,000. As a result of his conviction, Mr. Motyka stands to lose his pension and health insurance.

At his trial this spring, Mr. Motyka’s lawyer, James J. Gribouski, cast aspersions on Mr. Jones, who he accused of being the first aggressor, by drawing attention to his long history of berating public servants, including librarians. Mr. Motyka also, in a demand letter to the city, accused then-Chief Gary J. Gemme of disciplining him in retaliation for supporting someone he opposed for union president.

The internal affairs probes and video from the booking area, acquired by the Telegram & Gazette from court and public record requests, raise questions about departmental culture, Mr. Pineiro said.

While they show repeated verbal belligerence from Mr. Jones, they also appear to show Mr. Motyka admitting to a “cheap shot” and making light of what happened with colleagues.

“Once internal affairs learned what happened, they made the right call,” Mr. Pineiro said last week. “But the takeaway from all this is, 'How often did this happen?' ”

Mr. Pineiro pointed to the reactions of fellow officers as indicative of his contention that a “code of silence” exists in Worcester.

He believes police chiefs and city managers in Worcester have not done enough over the years to address concerns.

City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr., who was in office at the time of the assault, declined an interview request. Police Chief Steven M. Sargent, who began the job in May 2016, also declined an interview, deferring to a statement put out by Mr. Augustus on behalf of the city.

“The actions of the city and the Worcester Police Department in this case should speak for themselves, and for the seriousness with which this incident was taken,” city spokesman John F. Hill wrote in the statement, adding that 75 new cameras in the station now cover “every inch” that an arrested person will travel.

The statement did not address questions sent by email about whether there are any lingering concerns about a culture where officers cover for others.

It said the city’s actions “should remove any doubt that the city of Worcester holds its officers to a higher standard, one that the overwhelming majority of men and women who wear the uniform meet day in and day out throughout our community.”

“You’re not even worth it”

A police internal investigator filed two reports on the matter: one on April 29, 2015, that focused primarily on Mr. Motyka, and another on Aug. 4, 2015, that expanded to cover the actions of other officers present during the incident.

The investigator, Lt. Richard F. Bates, based much of the probe on a video from the booking area. Though it does not show the assault, it contains audio before and after and shows Officer Motyka entering the cell.

At the beginning of the video, Mr. Jones, waiting to be transported to court to answer charges he robbed a cab driver, enters the booking area and protests that the shackles Officer Motyka is placing on him will hurt his ankles.

“If you don’t like the, uh, consequences, don’t commit the crime,” Officer Motyka is heard saying, prompting Mr. Jones to retort, “Where’d you learn that, Yale?”

Officer Motyka replies, “You shouldn’t rob cab drivers,” and Mr. Jones calls him a clown.

“I’m the clown? You’re the (double expletive) under arrest,” Officer Motyka replies before opening the cell door and pushing Mr. Jones inside.

Once inside the cell, Mr. Jones repeatedly peppers Officer Motyka with homophobic slurs, prompting the officer at one point to retort, “You’re not even worth it.”

Just a few seconds later, however, after repeated insults from Mr. Jones, Officer Motyka quickly enters the cell, followed shortly by Officer Toney.

As one of the prisoners outside the lockup peers inside and grins, Officer Toney grabs the cell door and partially closes it behind him.

“There is a very loud, but unidentifiable noise that can be heard emanating from the holding cell,” the investigator wrote. He noted that Officer Toney exits the cell after 13 seconds. Mr. Motyka - his tie clip crooked - exits a few seconds later.

Mr. Jones can be heard calling Officer Motyka a homophobic slur, then banging loudly on the Plexiglas window.

“I’m worth 100 times more than you,” Officer Toney says, pointing to his badge, as Mr. Jones continues to hurl insults at officers.

As the verbal confrontations continue, Officer Lamothe, at the booking desk, states, “Why didn’t he knock him out?” three times, according to the investigator.

At one point, the investigator notes Mr. Jones stating, “Any more cheap shots like that, why don’t you do it in front of the camera?”

“I will,” Officer Motyka responds.

Officer Toney and Officer Motyka then begin repeating variants of the phrase “Hands up, don’t shoot,” which became a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement after the police shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014.

“All right mouth, you’ll be the first one I shoot,” Officer Motyka says about 40 seconds later as Mr. Jones continues to curse and issue threats.

Shortly after he utters the words, the investigator noted, Sgt. Cummings enters the frame and leans on a set of doors.

Consequences

Officer Motyka, who argued in court he used force on Mr. Jones but that it was in self-defense, never filed a “Use of Force” report as required by the department.

At trial, Mr. Motyka testified that the “unwritten policy” at the time was that such reports were only filed when an officer used a weapon.

The internal affairs report, which contains many pages that are entirely blacked out, highlighted the absence of the report along with statements from the video.

The investigator noted that the officer used profanity, that he replied “I will” to Mr. Jones’ dare to take another “cheap shot,” that he “mocked (Mr. Jones) with his words and actions regarding ‘Hands up, don’t shoot,’ that he told Mr. Jones he would be the “first one that he would shoot” and that he called Mr. Jones a “piece of crap.”

Officer Motyka declined to speak to police about what happened, and did not respond to a T&G reporter's request for comment through his attorney.

Worcester police initially charged Mr. Motyka with a civil rights violation, with Lt. John Towns writing in his report that Mr. Jones’ allegations and those of an unnamed witness suggested race was a “precipitating factor.”

But that charge did not survive the grand jury process, and Mr. Motyka was indicted solely on the assault and battery with a dangerous weapon charge.

At trial, evidence was presented that Mr. Jones has a history of making allegations of racism against people from all walks of life. In one voicemail entered into evidence, Mr. Jones accuses the woman prosecuting his assailant of being racist, a claim he later repeated in court.

One of the prisoners in lockup at the time of the assault told police he believed Mr. Jones was “trying to make it racial and it wasn’t.

“I think every officer there got tired of him, you know,” said the man, whose name was redacted. “It was just the point that he was making an ass out of himself.”

In addition to summarizing the case against Officer Motyka, the internal affairs report summarizes evidence with respect to Officer Toney, who was accused of discourtesy, and Sgt. Walsh, who was accused of neglect of duty.

The investigator said Sgt. Walsh cannot be seen in the video until the end, but that several officers interviewed said he was standing to the left of the booking desk, following his usual routine.

Mr. Jones, in his complaint, alleged there was a ranking officer “standing behind the desk laughing.”

Sgt. Walsh initially agreed to be interviewed by internal affairs but reconsidered and declined before the meeting. He retired April 12, 2015.

Officer Lamothe and Sgt. Cummings retired as of June 1, 2015. The report does not say that either officer was accused of misconduct, though the author did probe the actions of both men.

Under questioning from internal affairs, Officer Lamothe stated he “had no independent recollection of who he was referring to" when he stated, "Why didn't he knock him out?"

Officer Lamothe told investigators “he had no knowledge of any assault that took place and heard nothing out of the ordinary” emanating from the cell.

Officer Lamothe, who could not be reached for comment, told T&G columnist Dianne Williamson during the trial that the job was difficult.

“I’ve been spit on, bitten and insulted. Prisoners have made sexual comments about my wife, everything you can think of,” he said, adding that he was kind to prisoners regardless.

With respect to Sgt. Cummings, who was in a nearby but separate area when the assault occurred, the investigator said there “is no evidence to show that (he) had any knowledge of the assault.”

The investigator noted that Sgt. Cummings said he had no knowledge of the assault and that several prisoners said they didn’t tell him about it.

Attempts by the Telegram & Gazette to reach Sgt. Cummings and Sgt. Walsh for comment were not successful.

Concerns

Mr. Pineiro, who has filed many brutality lawsuits against the city, said he believes the internal affairs report bolsters his long-standing allegation of a “code of silence” within the department.

He said it’s unlikely only a couple of officers knew what happened, but that reporting it would not be seen as an option.

“If any of those individuals had gone upstairs and told the bureau of professional standards, that would be the end of their careers, because no police officer would work with them or trust them.

“We criticize the anti-snitching culture on our streets, but the police have the same culture,” he said. “It’s human nature.”

Mr. Pineiro said he’d like to know what the city did to see how deep this kind of reporting problem goes.

“Did the city do a blue-ribbon commission? Did they appoint someone to look at this (issue)?” he asked.

Mr. Pineiro, after watching the video, said nothing in it surprised him. He ticked off multiple cases in which the city settled with people who alleged station beatings, including $250,000 that went to Charles Evangelista in 2006.

In that case, Mr. Evangelista, of Boston, accused police of beating him in a booking area and hallway and then erasing a videotape. Chief Gemme at the time said the tape was erased accidentally.

Mr. Pineiro said Officer Motyka’s statement that there was a pattern of not filing use of force reports unless weapons were used matches his frequent arguments that such reports are not routinely filed.

In many of Mr. Pineiro’s cases, he argues that suspects or prisoners were beaten and that police did not file use of force reports because they knew they would not be held accountable.

Officer Toney, who admitted he didn’t report the assault to investigators, was allowed to stay on the force with the proviso that he testify in court to what he witnessed.

Officer Toney signed a “Last Chance Agreement,” a document some departments use that allows officers to remain employed with the understanding that if they act up again they waive most of their rights to protest a firing.

The agreement, which alleges that Officer Toney failed to report the assault, included a 30-day unpaid suspension, imposed 30 days of “punishment extra-duty” and restricts Officer Toney from engaging in misconduct “for eight years from the date of execution.”

The agreement also notes that upon his return, Officer Toney would be assigned to a service division job with no prisoner contact for at least six months, at which point the chief would review his assignment.

A spokesperson for the department last week said Officer Toney is still assigned to the service division. She said she could not say whether he has contact with prisoners because the department does not comment on disciplinary actions.

Efforts to reach Officer Toney for comment were not successful.

Mr. Motyka is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 3.

Contact Brad Petrishen at brad.petrishen@telegram.com. Follow on Twitter @BPetrishenTG.

Timeline: Michael J. Motyka prisoner assault

Dec. 1, 2014 – Worcester Police Officer Michael J. Motyka allegedly assaults prisoner in holding cell. No officers report the assault.

March 10, 2014 – The prisoner files a citizen complaint alleging he was beaten and other officers witnessed it.

April 9, 2015 – After an investigation, police arrest Officer Motyka at the station.

April 12, 2015 – Sgt. Batholemew Walsh, who was working the holding cell the morning of the assault, retires.

April 29, 2015 – An internal affairs investigator files a report on Officer Motyka detailing evidence, including video evidence, against him. The video indicates other officers were aware of the assault.

June 1, 2015 – Sgt. Francis Cummings and Officer Wilfred Lamothe retire. Sgt. Cummings was working in an area close to but separate from the booking area on Dec. 1, 2014, while Officer Lamothe was the booking officer.

July 25, 2015 – The city reaches an out-of-court settlement with Mr. Jones for $225,000.

Aug. 4, 2015 – An internal investigator files a second report on the prisoner assault that focuses on the knowledge and actions of other officers in the holding cell the morning of the assault. Evidence is presented that other officers knew of the assault and did not report it, including Officer Jeffrey Toney.

Aug. 27, 2015 – Officer Toney signs a “Last Chance Agreement” with the city allowing him to remain employed if he agrees to waive most of his rights to protest a firing for future offenses and testify as to what he witnessed Dec. 1, 2014.

Sept. 21, 2015 – A Worcester Grand Jury indicts Officer Motyka on a single count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

April 7, 2017 – A lawyer for Mr. Motyka sends the city a $5 million demand letter alleging his arrest was retaliation by former Chief Gary Gemme for supporting a different candidate than he preferred for union president.

June 8, 2017 - After a bench trial in Worcester Superior Court, Officer Motyka is found guilty of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Nov. 3, 2017 – Date on which Mr. Motyka is scheduled to be sentenced.