Robert Devine, former Stoughton deputy chief, decertified over ties to Sandra Birchmore
A former deputy chief at the Stoughton Police Department linked to the Sandra Birchmore case can never work as a police officer in the state again.
The Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST) announced Tuesday that it has voted to decertify Robert Devine.
The investigators found Devine lied about having a sexual relationship with Birchmore, who he and other officers met when she was 13 years old.
Another former officer, Matthew Farwell, is charged with killing Birchmore and her unborn baby to cover up his relationship with her. Prosecutors said Farwell allegedly killed Birchmore inside her apartment, then staged her to look like a suicide.
The U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts announced earlier this month that prosecutors will not seek the death penalty for Farwell in connection to Birchmore's death.
According to the POST Commission, Devine was found during an October hearing to have had a "pattern of unprofessional police conduct that may escalate and that he had repeated sustained internal affairs complaints, for the same or different offenses."
During a November brief filed by Devine, he argued that his due process rights were violated. He criticized the hearing officer for relying on hearsay evidence because he could not cross-examine Birchmore due to her death. He claimed that evidence was "unreliable and insufficient."
According to investigators, Devine used a Facebook account under the alias "Marty Riggs" to communicate with Birchmore.
Devine has 30 days to begin an appeal to the Supreme Court if he choses to do so.
William Farwell, Matthew's brother, previously had his police certification revoked by the POST Commission.