‘NEW DIRECTION’

Boston Mayor Fires Police Commissioner After Domestic Abuse Allegations

U.S. Labor Sec Marty Walsh, who appointed Dennis White as commissioner during his last weeks as mayor, has denied knowledge of the allegations. But White says that can't be true.

Boston’s Police Commissioner Dennis White, who has been suspended since domestic abuse allegations came to light, was fired Monday by Mayor Kim Janey, who said the department will enhance vetting protocols. Promising a “new direction,” Janey said that the claims about White—who denies allegations from 1999 that he struck and threatened to shoot his ex-wife—“raised serious questions about his fitness” to lead the police force White’s daughter and former sister-in-law have said that his ex-wife was the abuser—but according to Janey, White admitted during a recent investigation ithat he had struck members of his family. Then-Mayor Marty Walsh, who is now the U.S. labor secretary, had appointed White as police commissioner. He denies that he was aware of the allegations, although White says that Walsh would have been informed during the promotion process.