A federal judge on Tuesday cleared the way for former Boston Police Commissioner Dennis White to sue the city and its former acting Mayor Kim Janey on defamation, due process and right to privacy claims.
U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin simultaneously rejected nearly a dozen of White’s other claims in a 21-page ruling that examines arguments from an unsuccessful state court lawsuit filed before White’s dismissal last June.
Janey fired White following a more than seven-month suspension period that began within days of his assuming the job in February 2021.
White was placed on leave by former Mayor Marty Walsh, who also appointed him, after allegations of domestic violence against him resurfaced.
As Walsh departed his post to join President Joe Biden's administration, he hired an investigator to examine the claims against White. Janey then took on the role of acting mayor and, eventually, made the findings of that investigation public.
In turn, White tried unsuccessfully to sue the Janey and the city of Boston in state court, but amended his complaint and moved it to federal court after his firing.
White’s now-approved federal claims include one that alleges the city and Janey violated his 14th Amendment due process rights by failing to give him a public venue to clear his name after publishing “false and stigmatizing” information that hampered his ability to get another job.
Sorokin wrote the claim was “plausibly” alleged.
“As the Court has noted and the defendants argue, due process is a flexible concept, including when applied to claims like White’s,” the judge’s ruling said.
Two other claims — that White was defamed, and that the city violated his right to privacy under Massachusetts law with the release of the private investigator’s report — were also allowed to move forward.
In a statement, White’s attorney Nick Carter maintained that the domestic violence allegations against White are false, and that the former commissioner should have the chance to know who was interviewed as part of the private investigation that served as a basis for his dismissal.
“Commissioner White has never been told who these individuals are or what the basis of their allegations is,” Carter said. “This is not due process. It’s no process. And this lack of process destroyed the good reputation of an individual who gave his entire adult life to serve the City becoming the second Black police commissioner.”
Sorokin’s ruling ordered a pre-trial conference, which could open an opportunity for the parties to settle and avoid trial.
The ruling comes as Mayor Michelle Wu is poised to announce a new police commissioner.
The Wu administration declined to comment on the matter, citing the ongoing litigation.
