Twenty‑two Massachusetts police officers received formal recognition last night after completing a one‑semester, college‑level prosecutor training program at Dean Junior College in Franklin. The certificates were presented during a brief ceremony at the Norwood Police Station, where Norfolk County District Attorney George G. Burke praised the officers’ commitment and emphasized that police prosecutors would remain an essential part of the justice system.
Mr. Burke, addressing the assembled officers, noted that although a federal grant now enables assistant district attorneys to handle most district court cases in Medfield, police prosecutors are not being replaced. “Although a federal grant had provided funds to allow assistant district attorneys to try most district court cases in Medfield,” he said, “police prosecutors would not be phased out.” He added that officers would continue to prosecute misdemeanor cases “which carry a sentence of less than one year.”
“In all cases we do try,” Mr. Burke told the group. “I want the police working right by our side. We’ll work as a team.”
Among those receiving certificates were Patrolman Paul A. Bishop of Norwood; Sgt. Arthur J. Buckley of the Metropolitan District Commission Police in Milton; and Patrolmen George H. Coleman and Stephen F. Metrick of Sharon. Also honored were Michael DelSignore of Walpole; Patrolman H. Graham and Sgt. Paul J. Jones of Foxboro; State Police Trooper William P. Lennon of Foxboro; Lt. Edward F. Inmar of Quincy; and Patrolman Gary R. Prince, a security officer at Medfield State Hospital.
Additional graduates included Patrolman Mark Kevin Collins, Detective Arthur G. Hughes of Randolph, and Sgt. William T. McSweeney, also of Randolph.
The course, designed to strengthen courtroom preparation and prosecutorial technique among police officers, reflects a period of transition in Massachusetts law enforcement. While assistant district attorneys are taking on a larger share of district court responsibilities, Mr. Burke made clear that police prosecutors remain vital to the handling of lower‑level offenses.
“We’ll work as a team,” he repeated, underscoring his expectation that police and prosecutors continue to collaborate closely in the courtroom.
Source: The Patriot Ledger
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