Ex-cop admits to pepper-spraying handcuffed man
A former Somerville police officer and one-time leader of the officers union there has admitted “sufficient facts” that he peppersprayed a handcuffed man in 2019.
Michael McGrath admitted this week in Cambridge District Court that there were sufficient facts to convict him should his case go to trial.
Defendants can admit to sufficient facts in their case after having pleaded not guilty — which he pleaded at his arraignment on the charges on Nov. 13, 2020 — which according to Massachusetts law allows them to still be convicted on the charges without admitting guilt.
Judge David Frank continued the matter without a finding, and placed the defendant on probation for the term of one year with the condition that he not seek employment as a police officer.
A very short video released by the City of Somerville following the Oct. 1, 2019, incident shows blurred faces of Somerville officers surrounding a handcuffed man who shows no sign of aggression toward the figures. One of the officers, later identified as McGrath, then raises his arm and sprays the man in the face.
McGrath sprayed the “prisoner in his custody” in the face with Cap-Stun pepper spray “without cause or justification,” according to a statement released by the Middlesex County District Attorney’s office following McGrath’s admission.
That brand of pepper spray consists of a mixture containing 0.92% major capsaicinoids — chemicals distilled from the extreme heat of chili peppers — according to the vendor’s website.
“While favored in certain cuisines around the world, it has also been weaponized in the form of pepper sprays and bear repellents,” according to the abstract of a 2019 paper on the substance published in Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine.
Capsaicinoids are known to induce coughing and sneezing, inflame the skin and have an irritating effect on mucous membranes of the eyes and nose, according to an out-of-print 2003 edition of the Encyclopedia of Food Sciences and Nutrition.
McGrath was placed on unpaid leave when city and police administration learned of the incident, according to a statement released by the city on Friday. An internal investigation recommended a suspension of five days and further penalties up to termination, but McGrath resigned before this suspension could be imposed.
“While the overwhelming majority of law enforcement officers perform their duties with full professionalism, those who are alleged to have committed an act of misconduct will be held accountable,” acting Somerville Police Chief Charles Femino said in the city statement.
“The public must have confidence that officers discharge their duties with all due care and restraint. The events depicted in the findings and related evidence fall disappointingly short of the Department’s expectations and do not represent the values of the Somerville Police Department,” he continued.
McGrath had been a highly visible leader of the Somerville Police Employee’s Association. In his capacity as president of the union, he led a protest by multiple police unions against the City of Somerville flying a Black Lives Matter banner above the front door to city hall.
“While we support the core goal of the BLM movement — equal treatment under the law — we find the banner’s message disrespectful of police officers and potentially encouraging to individuals
who pervert that message murder of our counterparts through the indiscriminate from around the country,”
McGrath said ahead of the July 2016 protest.