Wave Maker

A lawsuit against the Massachusetts Port Authority reveals how a stunning example of patronage in the high command of the Massport Police Department may have contributed to the brutal beating of an innocent woman.

During the Fourth of July fireworks on Boston Harbor, a lesbian couple and their child were attempting to enjoy the show from Piers Park, a property in East Boston owned by Massport. In the course of the evening, one of the women was set upon by a gang of lesbian-hating teenage thugs and beaten to within an inch of her life.

On this evening, with thousands expected to swarm the park for the fireworks, Massport police command determined that ONE POLICE OFFICER WAS SUFFICIENT to keep order.

The story is infuriating, but boils down to a few simple sentences:

1. A top Massport police captain was repeatedly asked to put additional officers on duty at Piers Park on July 4, when thousands of people gather. But the captain declined, leaving one officer assigned to patrol the 6.5-acre park. The captain, Michael Grady , who is in charge of scheduling, declined to pay overtime that evening, the records say. An additional officer would have cost $330.

2. Joe Lawless, Director of Maritime Security (a force of 38 officers), did not recall many details of police operations under his supervision, including the plan to reduce overtime, according to the documents. Lawless hired Grady as his chief deputy in 1996.

2. Grady's only prior law enforcement experience was a year spent as a Middlesex County correction officer.

Massport settled the case brought against it for $250,000, having spent more than $600,000 to defend it first.

It is certainly possible that ten officers on duty that evening might not have prevented this despicable attack -- but it is also indeniable that assigning one officer to patrol 6.5 acres of park packed with thousands of people on the Fourht of July is prima facie stoopid.

What da heck is Massport doing with its own "police force," anyway? The State Police patrol the airport already. The park was created for the community as a mitigation (read "bribery") measure in 1995, and is maintained by Massport. If they're going to insist on retaining ownership and management of the property, they've got a legal committment to insure the public's safety -- especially for occasions so obviously need security as the Fourth of July fireworks.

And I thought the Cab Corral was a stupid idea.