In the recent public hearing for suspended Sergeant Tim Brennan, multiple Select Board members expressed regret for appointing John “Jay” Porter to the position of Hopkinton’s Deputy Chief of Police. None were more vocal in Brennan’s hearing than Board members Irfan Nasrullah and Mary Jo Lafreniere.
“How could you allow a sexual predator to keep advancing?,” Nasrullah asked Brennan. “We gave (Porter) more power because we didn’t know. I really find fault with that,” said Lafreniere.
Select Board Chair Muriel Kramer has publicly stated on multiple occasions that she had reservations about promoting Porter. And while she earned praise from the public for her empathy and support of Brennan during the hearing, the Select Board meeting on October 5, 2021 was entirely congenial in nature.
Porter sat beside Chief Joseph Bennett and Human Resources Director, and provided a summary of his career both with the Upton Police Department and his motivation for moving to Hopkinton. He also described his difficult childhood, stating that his father was “abusive to his mother, his sister, and himself”. On being appointed as Hopkinton’s first School Resource Officer, Porter described it as the most “enlightening, rewarding thing he ever did” in Hopkinton.
There were awkward moments between Bennett and Porter, such as when Porter told the Select Board that he had “been here longer than him,” referring to Bennett, and presumably alluding to the fact that they were both Lieutenants at the same time, but that Porter had been passed over for the Chief position in favor of Bennett. “Yikes,” responded Kramer.
Porter then went on to describe his close relationship with Bennett, referring to him as his “other life partner”.
On April 28, 2023, Porter officially retired from the Hopkinton Police Department. Three days later he was indicted on three counts of child rape stemming from his time as Hopkinton’s School Resource Officer. His trial is scheduled for September 2024.
>> RELATED: Continuing Coverage of the Trial of Former Deputy Chief Jay Porter
>> RELATED: Timeline: Porter, Brennan, Bennett, and the Victim
>> RELATED: In Emotional Meeting, Select Board Punts on Brennan Hearing
>> RELATED: Town Violates Massachusetts Law, Releases Porter’s Victim’s Name
I could not watch this video. It turned my stomach.
All they would have needed to do was have spoken to the previous 3 chiefs who were all well aware that Porter was a bully. Or all of the patrolman that complained to their union presidents and the towns HR department about the way Porter conducted himself and how he treated everyone…… but none of their voices ever mattered.
He resigned 3 days BEFORE the indictment. What a coincidence…. Who knew that the indictment was coming down????
His “other life partner.” Yikes. Makes it very hard to believe the Chief didn’t know about the abuse from the beginning since they were so close. And even more credit to Brennan having to navigate this incredibly difficult situation with these two superior officers.
Chief Bennet outed the victim by naming her twice in official documents released by him to the public. I’m sure the blame will go around, the simple truth is Bennet is a liar and needs to go. He has gone after Brennan because he lacks the courage to discipline an officer more suited to his job than he is. Chief Bennet should be fired immediately. I’m unsure why he hasn’t been fired or put on leave.
Residents of Hopkinton we deserve better. This is a fiasco, and we financed it. How many more hundreds of thousands of dollars do we waste on this incompetent and falsely punitive Chief? He has gone after Brennan and the Victim. Chief needs to go and to be prosecuted for breaking the law and outing the victim. I would call her a survivor, but she is being victimized again.
This is appalling.
Fire Bennet and reprimand or recall the SB members trying to cover their behinds for promoting a rapist and the vengeful and delinquent Chief now. The actions and behaviors of these town servants should not be tolerated. The Chief especially, he broke the law. All Brennan did was a policy violation to help a rape victim, and keep her from his boss. A boss that now looks as if he is being vengeful towards a rape victim.
#thankyoutim
From the HPD website
The members of the Hopkinton Police Department will serve as partners with our citizens to maintain a safe and peaceful community, committing ourselves to the preservation of life, protection of property, and safeguarding individual liberties. We are dedicated to accomplishing this with integrity and professionalism.
Fire Bennet. Thank Brennan. Pretty simple.