Boston Police Officer Pleads Guilty To Writing Phony Ticket After Road Rage Incident
BOSTON (CBS) -- A Boston police officer has pleaded guilty to sending a phony traffic ticket to a driver after a road rage incident nearly three years ago. Christopher Curtis, 37, was sentenced to one year of probation after entering the plea Thursday.
Curtis was involved in a road rage incident on Interstate 93 south in Stoneham back on March 1, 2019.
After the incident, the Suffolk County District Attorney said the officer ran the victim's license plate and sent that driver a traffic citation with a fine of $790 along with a threatening, handwritten note "challenging the victim to dispute the ticket."
The victim tried to appeal the ticket in Woburn District Court but officials found several mistakes and irregularities with it. Massachusetts State Police and Boston Police were notified and Curtis was identified. He initially denied involvement but later admitted in an interview that he wrote the ticket, the D.A. said.
"When an officer abuses their authority, as Officer Curtis did in this case, we must ensure that they are held accountable for their offenses and for their breach of the community's trust," D.A. Kevin Hayden said. "This individual now stands convicted of felony offenses that bar him from acting as a member of law enforcement in the future."
The Boston Police Department said Friday that Curtis is still on unpaid suspension and there is an open internal investigation.
Curtis pleaded guilty to six indictments charging forgery, uttering, false report by a public employee, obtaining criminal offender record information (CORI) under false pretenses, witness intimidation, and misleading an investigation.
Along with probation, Curtis must also pay restitution of $525, which the victim paid while trying to fight the ticket in court, and have no contact with the victim. The conviction will be reported to the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC), and it may impact his retirement benefits.
Also as a result of this case, Curtis is included in the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office Law Enforcement Automatic Discovery (LEAD) database, which identifies law enforcement officers whose credibility as a potential witness has been called into question.
