Accountability key for state police

The seemingly endless parade of state troopers walking into the federal courthouse to answer to charges continued in earnest this week.

As the Herald’s Sean Philip Cotter reported, David Wilson, 57, of Charlton pleaded not guilty to one count of embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds, a charge he was indicted on last week after being arrested in June.

Prosecutors allege Wilson collected $12,450 in overtime pay for hours he did not work. According to court documents, Wilson earned approximately $230,000 in 2016, about $68,000 of which was overtime pay.

Wilson was a member of the notorious Troop E, which has since been disbanded by Gov. Charlie Baker. In all, six troopers have been charged in the overtime investigation, and a total of 46 have been flagged by the ongoing audit.

In July, retired trooper Gregory Raftery pleaded guilty to stealing $51,337 through OT shifts. Last Friday, trooper Kevin Sweeney, 40, who last year made $243,882, including $75,031 in overtime pay, became the second trooper to plead guilty in the overtime probe.

Retired trooper Daren Dejong was also charged and pleaded not guilty last month. Prosecutors allege he bilked state police of more than $14,000 through no-show overtime shifts.

State police leadership is promising reforms, and that is a good thing, but there is a cultural problem among the ranks of our troopers and it is fueled by greed, a sense of entitlement and arrogance.

Leadership has committed to a series of audits of overtime payouts, GPS tracking on cruisers and a police camera pilot program. These are good measures, but let’s hope the toxic mindset that has driven so many of our trusted protectors to abuse the system can be corrected.

Law enforcement is under fire in 2018 — largely without justification. Giving detractors fodder in their ongoing crusade to denigrate and dismantle parts of our criminal justice system will have deleterious effects on our society.