Secrecy backfires

Was it worth it?

The scrubbing of a report on the arrest of a trial court judge’s daughter is now the subject of separate reviews by Gov. Charlie Baker and Attorney General Maura Healey. The state trooper who made the arrest has filed a lawsuit against his superiors. The details are going to come out, and it seems unlikely they’ll reflect well on the Massachusetts State Police.

Alli Bibaud, 30, the daughter of Dudley District Court Judge Timothy Bibaud, apparently had a lot to say after being arrested for driving under the influence of drugs after a highway crash in October. In his lawsuit, Trooper Ryan Sceviour says his original report on the arrest noted that Bibaud had told him her father was a judge, that during booking she made an unsavory offer in exchange for leniency and described her illicit means of acquiring drugs — details Sceviour later removed from the report, his lawsuit alleges, on orders from his superiors.

Sceviour’s lawsuit says he was summoned to the Holden barracks and ordered to edit the report. Judge Bibaud has denied knowledge of any effort to alter the report. Secretary of Public Safety Dan Bennett told the Herald he did not order revisions. State Police Col. Richard McKeon declined to comment to reporters yesterday.

Baker said yesterday his office is engaged in a “significant review” of the facts surrounding documentation of the arrest. “One of the reasons we are looking at this is to determine whether this was consistent with protocol or not,” he said.

One could argue Bibaud’s statements were not relevant to prosecution of the charges she faced. But in the interest of transparency it seems reasonable for Sceviour to have included more information instead of less.

Again, the details will come out. The ugly ones that some sought to bury already have.

Really, was it worth it?