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AdvertisementBrave Act can help officers return to policingPolice officers among veterans benefiting from court diversion programBrave Act can help officers return to policingIT THE MAN WHO WAS ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY PUNCHING HIM IN THE FACE AT THE JIMMY BUFFETT CONCERT IN MANSFIELD LAST SUMMER WAS SUDDENLY OFF THE HOOK. A JUDGE IN ATTLEBORO DISTRICT COURT DISMISSED THE ASSAULT AND BATTERY AND RESISTING ARREST CHARGES AGAINST THOMAS BENT, JUST LIKE THAT. BENT IS A BOSTON POLICE OFFICER. HE’S ALSO A MARINE CORPS VETERAN SO HE’S ELIGIBLE FOR THE BRAVE ACT. IT’S A DIVERSION PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS VETERANS TO HAVE THEIR CRIMINAL CHARGES DISMISSED IF THEY’RE CLINICALLY DIAGNOSED WITH A TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY, SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDER OR SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS CONNECTED TO THEIR MILITARY SERVICE. &gt;&gt; IS IT SPECIAL &gt;&gt; ABSOLUTELY. -- &gt;&gt; IS IT SPECIAL TREATMENT? &gt;&gt; ABSOLUTELY. JUST BECAUSE YOU SERVED IN THE MILITARY DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOUR IMMUNE FROM THE LAW. &gt;&gt; THE AUGUST INCIDENT UNFOLDED ON THE LAWN OF THE XFINITY CENTER. MADER SAYS A FRIEND OF BENT’S KEPT SPILLING BEER ON HIM AND HIS FIANCEE AND THINGS ESCALATED FROM THERE. &gt;&gt; WHEN HE GRABBED NICOLE’S ARM, THAT IS WHEN I STEPPED IN TO GRAB HIS ARM. THAT ISWHEN THE OFFICER PUNCHED ME IN THE FACE. &gt;&gt; MADER UNDERSTANDS WHAT VETERANS GO THROUGH WHEN THEY RETURN HOME. HE’S A MARINE CORPS VETERAN HIMSELF. &gt;&gt; IF YOU’RE A VETERAN GETTING OFF OF A CRIME BECAUSE YOU’RE A VETERAN, THAT IS NOT OK WITH ME AT ALL. AS A VETERAN, I SERVED TO SERVE, NOT TO GET SPECIAL PRIVILEGES. &gt;&gt; ANDREW PATTERSON IS ANOTHER POLICE OFFICER AND VETERAN WHO GOT A BREAK. THE STATE TROOPER WAS CHARGED WITH LEWD, WANTON, AND LASCIVIOUS CONDUCT AFTER ALLEGEDLY MASTURBATING AT A LUKE BRYAN CONCERT AT GILLETTE STADIUM IN JUNE. THESE ACCUSATIONS ARE WHOLEHEARTEDLY FALSE. &gt;&gt; PATTERSON NEVER HAD TO MAKE THAT ARGUMENT IN COURT. A JUDGE DISMISSED THE CASE IN NOVEMBER USING THE BRAVE ACT. THE PURPOSE IS TO PREVENT OF THE STAIN OF A CRIMINAL RECORD BECAUSE OF A CONDITION THAT PERSON MIGHT BE DEALING WITH. &gt;&gt; DAN MOYNIHAN IS PATTERSON’S ATTORNEY. HE’S REPRESENTED A NUMBER OF POLICE OFFICERS WHO ARE VETERANS WHO’VE HAD THEIR CASES DISMISSED. &gt;&gt; IS THE BRAVE ACT A GOOD THING? &gt;&gt; ABSOLUTELY. THERE ARE MANY VETERANS OUT THERE WHO HAVE GONE TO BATTLE FOR OUR COUNTRY. THEY ARE COMING BACK WITH ISSUES. &gt;&gt; THE BRAVE ACT HAS BEEN LAW IN MASSACHUSETTS SINCE 2018. IT REPLACED AN EARLIER VERSION KNOWN AS THE VALOR ACT, WHICH WAS REVISED BECAUSE OF CONCERNS THAT VETERANS WERE USING THE LAW TO HAVE SERIOUS CRIMINAL CHARGES DISMISSED. BUT THE CONTROVERSY HASN’T DISAPPEARED. WE DISCOVERED NO ONE KNOWS HOW OFTEN VETERANS ARE GETTING THEIR CASES THROWN OUT IN COURTS ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH. THE BRAVE ACT COULD BE AN OPTION FOR ANY VETERAN WITH ISSUES RELATED TO THEIR SERVICE, INCLUDING THOSE WHO NOW WORK IN LAW ENFORCEMENT. &gt;&gt; SHOULD THOSE PEOPLE BE BACK ON THE FORCE? &gt;&gt; THE QUESTION IS SHOULD THEY HAVE BEEN HIRED IN THE FIRST PLACE. &gt;&gt; THIS IS A FORMER BOSTON POLICE LIEUTENANT. HE SAYS OFFICERS WHO ARE VETERANS SHOULD STILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR BAD BEHAVIOR BY THEIR DEPARTMENTS. SUPERVISORS NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE OFFICERS CAN DO THEIR JOBS. &gt;&gt; CERTAINLY, YOU HAVE AN ISSUE OF RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THAT POLICE OFFICERS ARE PSYCHOLOGICALLY FIT. &gt;&gt; INTERNAL INVESTIGATION IS ONGOING. HIS ATTORNEY SAYS THE VETERAN WAS ON RESTRICTED DUTY UNTIL A DEPARTMENT DOCTOR CLEARED HIM. BUT MIKE MADER SAYS IT’S ANYTHING BUT JUSTICE. &gt;&gt; SAID, IT IS REALLY SAD. IT IS GOING TO KEEP HAPPEN -- SAD, IT IS REALLY SAD. IT IS GOING TO KEEP HAPPENING UNTIL THEY DO SOMETHING. &gt;&gt; STATE TROOPER PATTERSON IS STILL SUSPENDED WITHOUT PAY AS THE INTERNAL INVESTIGATION CONTINUES. COMING UP AT 7:00: YOU’LL HEAR FROM THE VICTIM OF A HIT AND RUN WHO ALMOST DIED. WHY SHE NOW SAYS SHE FEELS DUPED KNOWING THE POLICE OFFICER WHO WAS CHARGED HAD HIS CASE THROWN OUT AND IS BACK ON THE FORCE. MIKE BEAUDET, 5 INAdvertisementPolice officers among veterans benefiting from court diversion programBrave Act can help officers return to policingMike Mader couldn't believe it.The man who was arrested after allegedly punching Mader in the face at the Jimmy Buffett concert in Mansfield last summer was suddenly off the hook."I was floored. I was mad beyond mad," he said. "Let down."A judge in Attleboro District Court dismissed the assault and battery and resisting arrest charges against Thomas Bent. Bent is a Boston police officer. He's also a Marine Corps veteran, so he's eligible for the Brave Act.It's a diversion program that allows veterans to have their criminal charges dismissed if they're clinically diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, substance abuse disorder or serious mental illness connected to their military service."Is it special treatment?" 5 Investigates' Mike Beaudet asked Mader."It absolutely is," Mader replied. "Just because you served in the military doesn't put you above the law."The August incident unfolded on the lawn of the Xfinity Center.Mader said a friend of Bent's kept spilling beer on him and his fiancee, and things escalated from there."I grabbed his arm to pull his hand off of Nicole's arm. And that's when Officer Bent stepped in and punched me in the face," he said.Mader understands what veterans go through when they return home.He's a Marine Corps veteran himself."If you're getting off on a crime because you're a veteran, then speaking as a veteran, I'm not OK with that at all. At all," he said. "I served to serve. I didn't serve to get special privileges."Andrew Patterson is another police officer and veteran who got a break.The state trooper was charged with lewd, wanton, and lascivious conduct after allegedly masturbating at a Luke Bryan concert at Gillette Stadium in June.He was defiant outside court, telling the media the charge was "wholeheartedly false."But Patterson never had to make that argument in court. A judge dismissed the case in November using the Brave Act. "I've fought for our country overseas. I've fought for the Commonwealth on these streets," he said outside court.Patterson is still suspended without pay as the internal investigation continues.His attorney, Daniel Moynihan, has represented a number of police officers who are veterans and who have had criminal cases against them dismissed."The purpose is to prevent the stain of a criminal record because of some issues, some dependency that that person may be dealing with," he said."Is the Brave Act a good thing?" 5 Investigates' Mike Beaudet asked."I believe so, absolutely," Moynihan said. "You know, there are many veterans out there who have gone to battle for our country. They're coming back with with issues, PTSD and the symptoms or the various symptoms associated with PTSD.""All we're doing here is treating veterans with certain offenses which are symptomatic of their issues that they come back from war with," he said.But Moynihan said police officers suffering from mental health issues should not be working on the streets as officers.The Brave Act has been law in Massachusetts since 2018. It replaced an earlier version known as the Valor Act, which was revised because of concerns that veterans were using the law to have serious criminal charges dismissed.But the controversy hasn't disappeared.We discovered no one knows how often veterans are getting their cases thrown out in courts across the Commonwealth. The Brave Act could be an option for any veteran with issues related to their service, including those who now work in law enforcement.The trial court doesn't track its use. To get as complete a picture as possible, 5 Investigates asked every district attorney's office in Massachusetts if they tracked these cases. Most DAs didn't: Worcester, Norfolk, Essex, Berkshire, and the Cape and Islands. Others did keep track as part of their case management system. Hampden County had 22 cases since 2016. Hampshire and Franklin counties: 59. Middlesex County had 20 cases, and Plymouth County had had 83 since 2016.The dismissed charges include drug distribution, strangulation or suffocation, indecent assault and battery, kidnapping, assault and battery on a person over 60 and other crimes against the elderly or disabled.Not all of those cases, of course, involve police officers as defendants.But Ellis Bada's case does. Bada was on a bicycle in February 2016 when off-duty Cambridge police Officer Ryan Callinan hit Bada with his truck. "I couldn't breathe, couldn't move," Bada said. "I was absolutely convinced I was dying."Bada was "horrified" to learn that the man in the crash was a Cambridge police officer.Callinan was charged with leaving the scene of a personal injury crash and negligent operation of a motor vehicle. But a judge threw out the charges thanks to a court diversion program for veterans like Callinan."What I was told was that he left the scene because of his PTSD, because when he hit me, it made a noise and it triggered his PTSD from active duty," Bada said.As someone who's dealt with mental health issues, Bada supported the charges being dismissed."If he got successful treatment for mental illness, then I didn't see a problem why he would be back on the force," Bada said.But we showed Bada the police report that included details Bada never heard before.Callinan told an investigator that he "briefly looked down at his phone while driving."The investigator also wrote that when he spoke with Callinan an hour and a half after the hit and run he "smelled only a very faint odor of alcoholic beverage" but "he did not appear to be intoxicated."Prosecutors did not allege alcohol played a role in the crash and he was not charged with an alcohol-related crime."I feel a little bit stupid right now," Bada said after reading the report. "It almost feels like I wasn't told these parts because they thought it would change my mind.""But knowing those details, I have my reservations about whether he should be back on the force because that does show inherent bad judgment," Bada added.The Middlesex County District Attorney's Office objected to the dismissal of Callinan's charges.Four years after the hit-and-run, Bada is uneasy with the outcome of the case."I think I do have a lot more anger at the guy now because, yeah, there you know, I spent a lot of time processing it and things like that with the facts that I knew. But the facts that I knew were pretty gentle," Bada said.Callinan declined to comment on the case.In a character reference in his court file, his former commander in Iraq said he was impressed by his unflappable demeanor and dependability.The city of Cambridge said in a statement: "Because the charges were dismissed, Officer Callinan remained eligible for continued employment as a Cambridge Police Officer. Officer Callinan continues to be employed by the Cambridge Police Department, and is a member of the Department in good standing at this time."Tom Nolan, a former Boston police lieutenant who is now a sociology professor at Emmanuel College, questions whether veterans with the mental health issues that would qualify for the Brave Act should be hired in the first place."Certainly, you have a responsibility to the public to ensure that your police officers are, in fact, psychologically fit to perform their functions and their duties," Nolan said.He said officers who are veterans should still be held accountable for their bad behavior, and that police supervisors need to make sure the officers can do their jobs.Bent's internal investigation is ongoing. His attorney said the veteran was on restricted duty until a department doctor cleared him.But Mader said it's anything but justice."It's really sad because it's just going to keep happening until the Legislature does something," he said.Mike Mader couldn't believe it.The man who was arrested after allegedly punching Mader in the face at the Jimmy Buffett concert in Mansfield last summer was suddenly off the hook.Advertisement"I was floored. I was mad beyond mad," he said. "Let down."A judge in Attleboro District Court dismissed the assault and battery and resisting arrest charges against Thomas Bent. Bent is a Boston police officer. He's also a Marine Corps veteran, so he's eligible for the Brave Act.It's a diversion program that allows veterans to have their criminal charges dismissed if they're clinically diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, substance abuse disorder or serious mental illness connected to their military service."Is it special treatment?" 5 Investigates' Mike Beaudet asked Mader."It absolutely is," Mader replied. "Just because you served in the military doesn't put you above the law."The August incident unfolded on the lawn of the Xfinity Center.Mader said a friend of Bent's kept spilling beer on him and his fiancee, and things escalated from there."I grabbed his arm to pull his hand off of Nicole's arm. And that's when Officer Bent stepped in and punched me in the face," he said.Mader understands what veterans go through when they return home.He's a Marine Corps veteran himself."If you're getting off on a crime because you're a veteran, then speaking as a veteran, I'm not OK with that at all. At all," he said. "I served to serve. I didn't serve to get special privileges."Andrew Patterson is another police officer and veteran who got a break.The state trooper was charged with lewd, wanton, and lascivious conduct after allegedly masturbating at a Luke Bryan concert at Gillette Stadium in June.He was defiant outside court, telling the media the charge was "wholeheartedly false."But Patterson never had to make that argument in court. A judge dismissed the case in November using the Brave Act. "I've fought for our country overseas. I've fought for the Commonwealth on these streets," he said outside court.Patterson is still suspended without pay as the internal investigation continues.His attorney, Daniel Moynihan, has represented a number of police officers who are veterans and who have had criminal cases against them dismissed."The purpose is to prevent the stain of a criminal record because of some issues, some dependency that that person may be dealing with," he said."Is the Brave Act a good thing?" 5 Investigates' Mike Beaudet asked."I believe so, absolutely," Moynihan said. "You know, there are many veterans out there who have gone to battle for our country. They're coming back with with issues, PTSD and the symptoms or the various symptoms associated with PTSD.""All we're doing here is treating veterans with certain offenses which are symptomatic of their issues that they come back from war with," he said.But Moynihan said police officers suffering from mental health issues should not be working on the streets as officers.The Brave Act has been law in Massachusetts since 2018. It replaced an earlier version known as the Valor Act, which was revised because of concerns that veterans were using the law to have serious criminal charges dismissed.But the controversy hasn't disappeared.We discovered no one knows how often veterans are getting their cases thrown out in courts across the Commonwealth. The Brave Act could be an option for any veteran with issues related to their service, including those who now work in law enforcement.The trial court doesn't track its use. To get as complete a picture as possible, 5 Investigates asked every district attorney's office in Massachusetts if they tracked these cases. Most DAs didn't: Worcester, Norfolk, Essex, Berkshire, and the Cape and Islands. Others did keep track as part of their case management system. Hampden County had 22 cases since 2016. Hampshire and Franklin counties: 59. Middlesex County had 20 cases, and Plymouth County had had 83 since 2016.The dismissed charges include drug distribution, strangulation or suffocation, indecent assault and battery, kidnapping, assault and battery on a person over 60 and other crimes against the elderly or disabled.Not all of those cases, of course, involve police officers as defendants.But Ellis Bada's case does. Bada was on a bicycle in February 2016 when off-duty Cambridge police Officer Ryan Callinan hit Bada with his truck. "I couldn't breathe, couldn't move," Bada said. "I was absolutely convinced I was dying."Bada was "horrified" to learn that the man in the crash was a Cambridge police officer.Callinan was charged with leaving the scene of a personal injury crash and negligent operation of a motor vehicle. But a judge threw out the charges thanks to a court diversion program for veterans like Callinan."What I was told was that he left the scene because of his PTSD, because when he hit me, it made a noise and it triggered his PTSD from active duty," Bada said.As someone who's dealt with mental health issues, Bada supported the charges being dismissed."If he got successful treatment for mental illness, then I didn't see a problem why he would be back on the force," Bada said.But we showed Bada the police report that included details Bada never heard before.Callinan told an investigator that he "briefly looked down at his phone while driving."The investigator also wrote that when he spoke with Callinan an hour and a half after the hit and run he "smelled only a very faint odor of alcoholic beverage" but "he did not appear to be intoxicated."Prosecutors did not allege alcohol played a role in the crash and he was not charged with an alcohol-related crime."I feel a little bit stupid right now," Bada said after reading the report. "It almost feels like I wasn't told these parts because they thought it would change my mind.""But knowing those details, I have my reservations about whether he should be back on the force because that does show inherent bad judgment," Bada added.The Middlesex County District Attorney's Office objected to the dismissal of Callinan's charges.Four years after the hit-and-run, Bada is uneasy with the outcome of the case."I think I do have a lot more anger at the guy now because, yeah, there you know, I spent a lot of time processing it and things like that with the facts that I knew. But the facts that I knew were pretty gentle," Bada said.Callinan declined to comment on the case.In a character reference in his court file, his former commander in Iraq said he was impressed by his unflappable demeanor and dependability.The city of Cambridge said in a statement: "Because the charges were dismissed, Officer Callinan remained eligible for continued employment as a Cambridge Police Officer. Officer Callinan continues to be employed by the Cambridge Police Department, and is a member of the Department in good standing at this time."Tom Nolan, a former Boston police lieutenant who is now a sociology professor at Emmanuel College, questions whether veterans with the mental health issues that would qualify for the Brave Act should be hired in the first place."Certainly, you have a responsibility to the public to ensure that your police officers are, in fact, psychologically fit to perform their functions and their duties," Nolan said.He said officers who are veterans should still be held accountable for their bad behavior, and that police supervisors need to make sure the officers can do their jobs.Bent's internal investigation is ongoing. His attorney said the veteran was on restricted duty until a department doctor cleared him.But Mader said it's anything but justice."It's really sad because it's just going to keep happening until the Legislature does something," he said.Loading more articles...

AdvertisementBrave Act can help officers return to policingPolice officers among veterans benefiting from court diversion programBrave Act can help officers return to policingIT THE MAN WHO WAS ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY PUNCHING HIM IN THE FACE AT THE JIMMY BUFFETT CONCERT IN MANSFIELD LAST SUMMER WAS SUDDENLY OFF THE HOOK. A JUDGE IN ATTLEBORO DISTRICT COURT DISMISSED THE ASSAULT AND BATTERY AND RESISTING ARREST CHARGES AGAINST THOMAS BENT, JUST LIKE THAT. BENT IS A BOSTON POLICE OFFICER. HE’S ALSO A MARINE CORPS VETERAN SO HE’S ELIGIBLE FOR THE BRAVE ACT. IT’S A DIVERSION PROGRAM THAT...

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