After lengthy review, cop canned over lies
Commissioner Ramsey booted veteran cop Andre Boyer from the force on Tuesday at the urging of an internal review board.
A LONGTIME Philly cop who was at the center of disturbing credibility concerns was booted from the force earlier this week.
Andre Boyer, a 17-year veteran of the force, was suspended for 30 days Tuesday with the intent to dismiss by Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey.
The Police Board of Inquiry found Boyer guilty of four charges - intention to deceive, abuse of authority, failing to follow departmental procedures for handling evidence and conduct unbecoming an officer - during a daylong hearing July 23, Ramsey told the Daily News yesterday.
A week later, the board, which is composed of police officers and supervisors, recommended that Boyer be dismissed.
The charges were connected to a 2011 case involving a man who claimed that Boyer took $6,000 from his car during an arrest and pocketed some of the cash.
"[Boyer] told several lies, based on the information that we had," Ramsey said. "He didn't have legal justification for seizing the money, and he failed to notify a supervisor, which you're supposed to do when you seize that much money."
Ramsey said the District Attorney's Office declined to press any criminal charges against Boyer.
"It's always unfortunate when these things happen, but it's our responsibility to rid the ranks of people who don't live up to the oath they took," he said.
John McNesby, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, said the union will likely file a grievance on Boyer's behalf.
The Inquirer reported in April that a 2008 internal police report found that Boyer had falsified dozens of arrest records.
The D.A.'s Office acknowledged to the paper that it had failed to properly review the report, or to share the information with defense attorneys who represented clients that Boyer had arrested.
Public defender Bradley Bridge said yesterday that the D.A.'s Office has "been commendably dismissing cases" involving Boyer, but noted that larger concerns remain.
"It's apparent that there needs to be more substantial oversight of the job that police officers do, particularly internally within the Police Department, but especially within the District Attorney's Office," he said.
Boyer had been the subject of 21 civilian complaints, more than any other cop on the force, the Inquirer reported.
In January, rapper Meek Mill filed a federal lawsuit against Boyer and another officer, Michael Vargas, claiming that the cops detained him for nine hours after a North Philly car stop, and then shared photos of him in police custody on Instagram and other websites.
- Staff writer Dana DiFilippo
contributed to this report.