Suspended Massasoit police officer loses appeal to get reinstated

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BYLINE: Maureen Boyle, ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
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Brockton, MA

The state Appeals Court upheld the suspension of a Community College police officer who was ousted after problems were uncovered about how that police department’s guns were handled.

Campus Officer David Bickford, who had been in charge of the department’s weapons armory, was put on leave in 2006 after a state police investigation into a missing gun uncovered problems with record-keeping.

A spokesman for the college said the school has not yet been formally notified of the ruling. Bickford is still officially off the job.

Bickford, after learning of the ruling Friday, said he was disappointed with the decision “but I’m not surprised.” He said he will confer with his attorney to see if he can appeal the decision further.

Bickford said the matter was “blown out of proportion” and he would elaborate at a later time.

State police launched its investigation in 2006 when Bickford returned to work after a three-month disability leave and reported a pistol and magazine clips were missing from his locker. The gun was never recovered, but the court noted a state police investigation into the matter “did reveal a host of other problems with Bickford’s performance as armorer.”

The investigation found, according to the court, that Bickford:

Took a personal firearm from one of the campus sergeant’s desk drawer in 2000 to “secure it” but never told her then forgot about it.

At least two department firearms were missing.

He lost his firearms log book and didn’t find it for at least three years.

He stopped keeping a firearms log when the log book was missing.

The campus police officers are special state police officers, getting their arrest powers through the state police.

Maureen Boyle can be reached at .

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