Boston Police Sergeant Shana Cottone said Monday that she's been placed on administrative leave over distorted charges linked to her opposition to new vaccine mandates implemented by Mayor Michelle Wu.
Cottone is the leader of Boston First Responders United, a group that has vigorously opposed Wu’s new requirement that all city employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 unless they receive a medical or religious exemption, eliminating the option for weekly testing.
"This is motivated by my activities advocating for my group, Boston First Responders United, and all the workers in the city that are being affected by these morally bankrupt mandates," Cottone said. "It's very clear."
Cottone was placed on leave and surrendered her gun and badge Saturday.
She told GBH News a written explanation of her suspension claims she inappropriately filmed Wu's speech at a police roll call in Mattapan on Dec. 23, 2021; inappropriately told an officer not to activate her body camera during a Jan. 4 protest at Wu's Roslindale home; and resisted sending police protection to Wu's home on Dec. 21, 2021.
In each case, Cottone contends, the claims are distorted.
In an interview with GBH News, she said she began filming Wu's speech in Mattapan before being told by a colleague that a superior had said police weren't supposed to film the event.
Cottone also questioned the reasonableness of the prohibition on filming by police.
"I had my phone right there, and I took a video of a pregnant cop pleading with Mayor Wu not to make her take the vaccine," Cottone said.
Cottone also said her instruction to an officer not to film a Jan. 4 protest outside Wu's house was squarely in keeping with BPD policy dictating that peaceful protests not be filmed to protect the identity of participants.
"Our rules and regulations state explicitly that protests are not to be recorded with the body-worn camera unless, basically, people are violent," Cottone said. "There [have] to be circumstances that would justify it, right? Because it would cause an effect on people engaging in First Amendment–protected activities."
Another claim in her suspension — that Cottone resisted providing a protection detail at Wu's home on Dec. 21 — stems from a joke she made after initially forgetting to fill out the necessary paperwork, Cottone claimed.
"[Wu's home] never didn't have coverage," she said.
A fourth claim cited in connection with Cottone being placed on administrative leave involves an unrelated case that began with the investigation of an individual for inappropriately using the type of blue light that sits atop cruisers reserved for law-enforcement personnel.
City employees were previously able to provide negative COVID tests in lieu of getting vaccinated. Now, any employee who hasn't received an exemption must receive one vaccine dose by Jan. 15 and a second dose by Feb. 15. Also on Jan. 15, Boston will begin mandatingthat customers entering many indoor venues provide proof of vaccination. That requirement will also become more stringent over time.
Cottone has previously been publicly lauded for her police work. She was at the site of the second blast during the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings and provided emergency medical care to victims. She later served as a protagonist in a 2014 book on the bombings, “Long Mile Home.” In 2015, Cottone evacuated several homeowners and a pet from a burning North End building while off duty, according to a BPD press release, and was subsequently honored by the Red Sox and Celtics.
Her record with the BPD also contains blemishes. According to the Woke Windows Project, which uses public records to document hard-to-find information about the Boston Police Department, Cottone has been the subject of several internal-affairs investigations that were sustained by the BPD.
In 2017, Cottone was suspended for 30 days by then-Police Commissioner William Evans in connection with three cases dating back to 2011 and 2012. In one, she failed to provide her name upon request and to provide medical care to an individual in her custody. In a second, she transported a civilian in her cruiser and allowed him to visit a subject without authorization. In a third, she engaged in a verbal and physical altercation while under the influence of alcohol.
Cottone’s suspension was previously reported in 2017, when she was promoted to sergeant.
Asked what she’d say to anyone who sees that suspension as reason to doubt her current account, Cottone disputed the validity of some of the findings and said she accepted the suspension to receive a promotion to sergeant.
“There was the one where I got into a fight — that one was legitimate,” Cottone added. “I did that. ... I made a mistake, and I own up to it.”
Wu's office referred an inquiry about Cottone's claims to the Boston Police Department. The BPD declined comment, saying the investigation against Cottone is ongoing.
This is a developing story.
