Statie, wife deny charges in fatal pool party
The former Massachusetts State Police captain whose Dedham home was the scene of a drowning was arraigned on charges Tuesday in connection with the fatal incident and released on personal recognizance.
Former State Police Capt. James Coughlin has been charged with furnishing alcohol to persons under 21 and reckless endangerment of a child.
His wife, Leslie Coughlin, also faces the same charges.
The charges are tied to the drowning of 17-year-old Alonzo Polk of Dedham.
The Coughlins were arraigned in Dedham District Court on Tuesday where they pleaded not guilty to the charges and were released on personal recognizance.
“Of course this is a terrible accident and a terrible tragedy for Alonzo,” Brian Kelly, the Coughlins’ attorney, said outside the courthouse.
“But secondly, we’ve said from the outset that he’s not a drinker, he wasn’t drinking at this party,” the defense attorney added about Polk.
Kelly claimed that he recently received hospital records that show there was no alcohol in Polk’s blood when he died.
The Dedham teenager died following the incident at Coughlin’s Netta Road home on June 6 during a graduation party. Polk was pulled from the backyard pool. He died a couple of days later.
Polk’s family members — who have been calling for justice — attended the hearing on Tuesday.
Family and friends left the courthouse chanting, “We want justice for who? Alonzo!”
His brother Roshawn Drane said the group came to court “to see justice happen.”
“But what we’ve seen today was these people coming to this courthouse and leave with no repercussions,” he added.
“Our brother’s no longer here. He’s no longer walking this earth,” Drane said.
A family spokesman said a response would come later to the defense attorney’s hospital record claim.
The family “wants each and every person who had anything to do with causing or creating the circumstances that led to his death to be held accountable,” added family spokesman Gregory Henning. “Each and every person.”
More charges could be coming in connection to Polk’s death. Police are continuing to conduct an investigation.
The police report from June 6 cited “reckless actions including a lack of adult supervision at the pool at the time a drowning victim entered the water, the permission of underage consumption of alcohol, inadequate lighting in the pool area.”
Polk was apparently pushed into the pool by one of his friends who was unaware that Polk didn’t know how to swim, the defense attorney has claimed.
The next hearing for the Coughlins is set for Nov. 3.
Coughlin, whose annual State Police pension is $131,961, ran for sheriff of Norfolk County last year.