The law firm investigating suspended Boston Police Commissioner Dennis White has so far billed the city just under $45,000, according to documents obtained by GBH News under the state open record law.
"Davis-Malm has billed the City of Boston a total of $44,995.88,” according to the documents. That cost includes charges from American Investigative Services, one of two third-party private investigators retained to assist with the probe. The other firm, Creative Services, Inc., has billed “no fees” to date, the city said.
Tamsin Kaplan, an attorney with Boston law firm Davis, Malm & D’Agostine, was deputized via a February 12 letter, as an agent of the city to look into “past allegations of domestic abuse against Commissioner Dennis White and related issues.”
These would include, according to the letter, “procedures and findings” related to any Boston Police Internal Affairs investigations.
Kaplan's assignment began about one week after former Mayor Marty Walsh appointed White before quickly placing him on leave following questions from The Boston Globe about allegations that White threatened to shoot his then-wife in 1999 during a domestic dispute. White's now ex-wife secured a restraining order, and the couple subsequently divorced.
Outcry immediately arose from supporters who argued that without a criminal record or pattern of domestic abuse, White's suspension seemed unjust.
White's daughter, Tiffany White, also called the validity of the claims into question when she insisted the allegations her mother brought against her father were untrue in an interview with GBH News.
Acting Mayor Kim Janey has said that she is waiting on the results of the investigation, which she expects to be complete before the end of this month.
