Brickbat: Conduct Unbecoming

Stoughton, Massachusetts, Police Chief Donna McNamarra said she will ask the Peace Officers Standards and Training Council to decertify three former officers after an investigation found they had inappropriate relationships with a teenage girl who was a member of the department's Explorers program. Matthew Farwell, his twin brother William Farwell, and Robert Devine had relationships with Sandra Birchmore, who was 13 when she started in the Explorers program. Birchmore committed suicide a decade later after Matthew Farrell ended his relationship with her following an argument. Both Farwells exchanged numerous explicit messages with her, according to McNamarra. The local district attorney's office said it has "to date has not developed a prosecutable statutory rape case against any individual."