The firearms case involving the son of State Police Superintendent Col. Christopher Mason reeks of an tried whitewash.
There’s the closely redacted police report from Barnstable cops. A rushed, hush-hush, 3-minute arraignment. A Barnstable police officer escorting the suspect out of courtroom to protect him from the media. A prosecutor from outdoors of Cape Cod who unbelievably refused to present even her identify to reporters.
It all provides as much as particular remedy on the very least for Reid Mason, a Truro firefighter who again in February was discovered by police slumped half out of his black Jeep Wrangler outdoors the nineteenth Hole Tavern reeking of alcohol with weapons in his automobile. Mason has pled not responsible to 5 prices of improper weapons storage however there have been no different prices.
You assume an odd citizen with no connections would get handled this fashion?
If you had been discovered by cops drunk and sleeping in your automotive with semi-automatic weapons inside do you assume police would assist you to go and name a relative to drive you dwelling?
Sure you’d get an escort — from police taking you again to the station to get arrested.
Would an odd citizen have their police report closely redacted so key particulars of the case are shielded from the media?
Here’s one key a part of the incident report launched by Barnstable Police.
“Based on my opinion of Mason’s sobriety, I believe he (deleted) to (deleted) over the (deleted) inside of the vehicle,” the officer wrote. “Mason’s level of intoxication (deleted) to (deleted) the (deleted) and satisfies (deleted).”
Glad we obtained that straightened out.
The division gave no causes for the deletions.
“We continue to decline to identify those exemptions as we believe that doing so would defeat the purpose of those exemptions,” mentioned Barnstable Police Records Supervisor Danielle Paradis.
A spokesman informed the Herald that the police officer, John York, who escorted Mason out of the courtroom arraignment “was not directed by any BPD supervisor or any other officer to escort anyone.” The spokesman added that escorts ought to solely be supplied when there’s a security threat.
There had been about three reporters outdoors the courthouse — not precisely a mob.
“York said that he mistakenly took it upon himself to do so, feeling that he was being proactive in preventing what could have been a problem,” Barnstable Police Lt. Mark Mellyn wrote to the Herald. “York was counseled that three press members simply wishing to speak to a defendant and his attorney after an arraignment was never going to be a problem and did not warrant police intervention.”
Yet intervene he did, giving yet one more impression that this was no odd citizen who was arrested, it was the son of high-ranking police officer.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”