Policeman disciplined for leaking pictures
FRAMINGHAM, MASS. — A state police photographer who released photos of the bloodied Boston Marathon bombing suspect during his capture was placed on restricted duty Tuesday.
Sgt. Sean Murphy said he leaked the photos of what he called “the face of terror” to Boston magazine last week to counter a glamorized image of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.
Three of Murphy’s 14 photos show a battered and bloodstreaked Tsarnaev emerging from a boat in a backyard, the red dot of a sniper’s laser sight trained on his head.
Murphy wasn’t authorized to release the photos. He already served a one-day, unpaid suspension and has received another five-day unpaid suspension. Following a status hearing at state police head- quarters Tuesday, Murphy was placed on desk duty, where he won’t have contact with the public, until an internal investigation is complete.
Col. Timothy Alben, the commander of the state police, said more discipline is conceivable, but he ruled out the possibility that Murphy would be fired.
“I don’t see Sgt. Murphy being terminated for this particular set of circumstances,” he said.
After the hearing, Murphy declined to comment, except to say, “Life is good.”
Murphy’s 19-year-old son, Connor Murphy, said he couldn’t be more proud of his father, praising him as a man of integrity and noting his father never tried to hide what he had done.
“If I could be one quarter of a man that he is now, I’ll be more than happy with my life,” he said.
Alben said the rules Murphy is accused of violating aim to ensure police don’t leak information that could jeopardize investigations.
But he added that discipline against Murphy in this case “doesn’t mean we have any less empathy or concern or sympathy for people or families that lost loved ones or who were severely injured throughout that incident.”
Alben also indicated strong support for Murphy within his agency, noting Murphy had a previously unblemished disciplinary record.
He said Murphy was a conscientious man whom he believes was motivated to release the photos based on his own personal convictions.
“I don’t think that should ever be misconstrued or misunderstood that this organization, this Massachusetts State Police, is not made of 2,100 people who might share similar feelings about that, including this colonel,” he said.