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BPD detective charged with helping friend skip security screenings at Logan and flying armed without permission
By adamg on Wed, 06/28/2017 - 12:32pm
Federal officials today charged Bruce Smith, currently a detective assigned to District E-13 in Jamaica Plain, with making false statements to the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security and unlawfully entering a secure airport area with intent to evade security requirements, the US Attorney's office in Boston reports.
According to charges filed in US District Court, where he is scheduled for arraignment today, Smith allegedly used his status as a Boston cop to fly with his gun on roughly 28 flights out of Logan between 2011 and this past April, even though he was not on official business - a violation of federal law. Also:
On at least two of [the trips], Smith also escorted or attempted to escort a friend, Leroy Ross, through Logan Airport without security screening. Smith falsely claimed that Ross was a "dignitary" under Smith's official police escort. When questioned by TSA security personnel as to what type of dignitary Ross was, Smith falsely replied, "I am not at liberty to divulge that information." In fact, Ross, who has a criminal record, is not a dignitary, but a mobile HIV clinic operator in Randolph. According to the complaint, Smith also fraudulently requested and received overtime pay for an intelligence meeting/event in Boston that he did not attend because he was on personal travel in North Carolina.
If convicted, Smith, 53 and a Randolph resident, faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
Innocent, etc.
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| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 Affidavit by FBI agent | 145.07 KB |
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Comments
It sounds like the feds did
It sounds like the feds did extra investigation to audit his timecards to uncover the overtime fraud.
Imagine if they did that for everyone at BPD.
Glad they caught this guy. I
Glad they caught this guy. I certainly don't want a dirty cop working in my neighborhood. I hope they make him pay back taxpayers for the money he stole.
He's not the only ...
... dirty cop working at District 13 in JP.
Why?
Aside from all the other things he did, I just don't get why anyone would feel the NEED to bring their gun on a plane, multiple times.
Hijacking?
Apologies if this is wicked ignorant, but why don't pilots carry (even a tazer)?
Pilots do carry
Some pilots do carry firearms. They complete a special intensive certification course in order to do so. No idea the numbers, but this is true on commercial airline.
Why?
You really want a pilot leaving the cockpit to fire a couple rounds?
The cockpit door is reinforced. Nothing can get through. The pilot's job is to safely land the plane, not act like John Wayne.
Uh, the point of armed pilots
Uh, the point of armed pilots is so that if someone breaches the cockpit door they get shot. The pilots don't leave their cabins in the event of a security problem. German and Israeli airliners have had some heavy duty hardware in the cabins for a long time because of all the PLO hijackings in the 60s/70s.
Door Breach
You watch too many action films. If someone is actively trying to force the door open the pilots are going to be focused on quickly landing the plane and calling for help, not abandoning the controls in preparation for a shootout.
Hard to land a plane quickly
Hard to land a plane quickly when over the middle of the Atlantic, Pacific, or Indian Oceans. Hence why those airlines have additional precautions.
Ransom hijackings of airliners used to be common in the 70s.
Only if you want to die
Do you have the least clue how thick the skin of an airplane is?
Or what happens when you shoot a bunch of holes in it at altitude and speed?
Mythbusters debunked this
https://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/videos/explosive-decompre...
Explosive decompression can occur when a bullet is fired through the fuselage of a pressurized airplane, causing the hole to grow dramatically and possibly cause the plane to break up as seen in movies.
BUSTED
The pressure is not high enough and the hole is too small. Explosive decompression only occurred when a hole the size of a window was made with explosives. Even then, the rush of air could not suck Buster completely out of the hole. Lastly, there are proven instances of explosive decompression where the plane was still able to maintain control and land.
https://mythresults.com/episode10
No apologies needed, but it
No apologies needed, but it was wicked ignorant.
He didn't need to
He wanted to. Who's stopping him? He has a gun, after all. He's gotta have something, he clearly doesn't have a brain to try to pull one over on the feds.
Dumbest I've seen since those kids thought it wise to attack a letter carrier.
Gun nuts don't care about
Gun nuts don't care about logic or laws or about the multiple studies that show having a gun in a house greatly increases the chances of a member of that household being killed.
The study has been debunked
The study has been debunked and the original author withdrew it under scrutiny of peer review. But keep repeating it if it makes you feel better about fearing inanimate objects.
"The" study?
Which one are you referring to?
This one?
This one?
This one?
This one?
Maybe one of these?
Of course, all these studies had different authors; most of them had multiple authors, so it's kind of ridiculous to say that "the original author" of "the study" has recanted. Many studies, carried out by many different organizations over many years, have concluded that having a gun in your home makes it more likely that you or a member of your family will be shot. You can believe them, or you can believe a trade group whose finances depend on lots of gun sales. One choice is rational; the other choice is idiotic.
weird
You could say the same thing about people who don't bother to understand laws or see any middle ground. Or you could make sweeping generalizations. Both sides certainly do.
I don't see what the big deal is
It's not like he put his lobster in the wrong kind of cooler.
his status as a Boston cop to
So, aside from posing for photos with other people's personal belongings and posting them to the interwebs, what else is the TSA busy doing that they allowed someone to board a plane with a weapon for a rough total of 28 times without bothering to check? Is it their policy to allow any armed person with a badge to board a flight without as much as a phone call to the pertinent authority? Or do they only do it when someone is trying to impress a friend and pulls the old “that's classified” nonsense.
Now I know there aren't many Nobel laureates working airport security but after fifteen years of trial and error, one would hope that they would have policies and procedures in place so that a person would not be able to violate the rules for a rough guesstimate of twenty eight times.
It isn't uncommon.
Law enforcement agents at all levels need to travel by air and are allowed to carry their firearms with them (with specific regulations). This guy didn't meet those regulations and lied about needing to carry on the plane, but it isn't like cops carrying guns on airplanes has been a problem in the past 15 years either, so TSA probably was ok with him just showing his ID/badge/etc.
I have also seen TSA let officers carry on planes for funerals, which I assume aren't "official business"?
It's not like anyone carrying
It's not like anyone carrying guns on airplanes has been a problem in the past 15 years.
Security Theatre
Security protocols not being followed.
So, lots of work to do.
That doodz gun could have been used against him and other, innocent, people.
He should be thankful they stopped him.
I hear they like boot-licking.
What else?
Groping people.
In their defense, not that they deserve it, it kinda sounds like he maybe made the whole TSA thing optional.
Detail Fraud ?
Is that a crime? Since Boston Police have jurisdiction only in the city of Boston what official business could he on? Detective smith's arrogance at the airport is probably a good barometer of how he conducted police business in the city of Boston.
Really?
Since Boston Police have jurisdiction only in the city of Boston what official business could he on?
You can't think of any reason a BPD detective might have to fly to another state on official business? I can provide some legitimate reasons, but only after you think about it for a couple of minutes and declare yourself stumped.
Also..................
I wonder of the NFL Hall of Fame will boot him out over this? Had a hell of a career with the Bills.
Nope
But only because there's no such thing as the NFL Hall of Fame.