Mass. State Police Colonel retires amid lawsuits over revised report

BOSTON — State Police Colonel Rick McKeon has retired from his position amid lawsuits alleging he forced a trooper to alter a police report on the arrest of a judge's daughter.

The trooper is 29-year-old Ryan Sceviour. He says he hasn’t been able to sleep since being forced to edit and redact the police report, which contained a vulgar statement allegedly made by the the woman.

“I think the Colonel made a mistake getting involved in this. He took full responsibility issuing the order,” Gov. Charlie Baker said. “The Colonel made pretty clear, that this was an order coming from him. In organizations, people normally file the orders of their superiors.”

MORE: Vulgar statement removed from arrest report of local judge's daughter

A replacement for Col. McKeon is expected to be named in the coming days.

Sceviour hired an attorney, saying he wants an apology and to have his name cleared.

MORE: State Trooper says he was forced to change arrest report for judge's daughter

A second Massachusetts State Trooper is also filing a lawsuit against the department after she says she was forced to alter the report.

Ali Rei is a drug recognition expert who was involved in the arrest of Worcester judge Timothy Bibaud's daughter, Alli Bibaud, last month for driving under the influence.

According to Rei, a state police major forced her to shred a log entry as well.

MORE: Second trooper files lawsuit against MSP related to altered reports

“They have impaired his reputation. People hear his name, ‘isn’t that guy who faked the report. Isn’t that the guy who covered up for the judge?’” attorney Lenny Kesten said.

Boston 25 News obtained recordings of the voicemails left on Sceviour's phone.

“You are to immediately code seven to the barracks, per the Colonel. It’s an order from the Col. It’s got something to do with an arrest report, umm, a judge’s daughter,” one of the messages said.

According to Kesten, Sceviour didn’t know who Bibaud was until she commented about it during the arrest, something he documented in the report.

“My dad’s a [expletive] Judge. He’s going to kill me,” she allegedly said, along with comments allegedly implying trading sexual favors for leniency.

Col. McKeon published the following letter:

Message from Colonel McKeon
Dear Colleagues,

The past few days have been difficult for the MSP and for me, in particular. We have always been highly scrutinized for how we perform our duties, as any police agency should be, and these last few days have been no exception. That public examination, while sometimes uncomfortable, comes with the great authority bestowed upon us, and we must always pay attention to how we are perceived by those whom we serve and protect.

Each and every one of you is on my mind today, as you have been during the past two-and-a-half years during which I have had the honor and privilege to serve as your Superintendent. We may at times disagree on how we do this job, but I have no doubt that the more than 2,000 men and women who put their lives on the line every day for the Massachusetts State Police are dedicated to doing their very best every day to protect the honor of our corps and the safety of our citizens.

Part of our code of honor is understanding when your own personal ambition detracts from the greater good of our mission. I have today decided that putting the greater good of the Massachusetts State Police first, necessitates my decision to retire after 35 years of proud service. I am honored to have served as your Superintendent and grateful for the honor of working with you. I am also thankful to the Governor and the Secretary of Public Safety and Security for the privilege of serving in this position.

What has been lost in the headlines in recent days is another part of the unspoken code that we follow -- to do our jobs with professionalism, compassion and empathy.

You are counted as among the most elite police forces in the country because you have learned to balance the need to enforce the law with an understanding that those we arrest are people with real lives and aspirations who have stumbled. The lesson I learned early in my career, have lived by ever since, and have tried to impart to those I've had the privilege to command, is that you can do your job to protect the public safety while also understanding that even offenders are people who need to reclaim their lives and move on after they have paid their debt.

This is perhaps no more true than it is for those who have been victimized by the scourge of opioid abuse. We have fought the opioid epidemic on multiple fronts, including enforcement, treatment, and education. Illegal use of narcotics is a crime, and we never have backed down, and never will, from investigating, arresting, and prosecuting those who break our drug trafficking and possession laws. But opioid addiction is also a sickness, and as police officers, we stand tallest when we treat everyone we encounter with respect and decency.

This fellowship that is the MSP has existed for 152 years and our agency will continue to be one of the greatest police forces in this country. But it needs the good and conscientious work of each and every one of you who wear the badge, to demonstrate not only your ability to enforce the law, but also to understand that how you enforce the law is every bit as important.

Thank you one and all for serving alongside me. It had been a privilege to serve as your Superintendent.

Sincerely,
Colonel Richard D. McKeon
Superintendent
Massachusetts State Police

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