Charlton police sergeant tracked acquaintance, violating ethics laws; pays $10,000 fine
Charlton police Sgt. Steven Madelle paid a $10,000 fine for a conflict of interest violation after using police resources to locate a person with whom he had a private relationship, the state Ethics Commission said Wednesday.
Madelle signed a disposition agreement with the commission.
In the agreement, Madelle admitted to the violations and waived his right to a hearing.
In June 2021, Madelle called the police station while he was off duty and asked the dispatcher to ping a cellphone, or use a phone’s GPS capabilities to transmit its real-time location, according to the commission.
In Massachusetts, a ping can only be initiated by either a search warrant or a request from law enforcement under certain circumstances. The dispatcher called the cellphone carrier and the carrier pinged the phone, according to the commission.
The dispatcher provided the coordinates to Madelle, a superior.
The circumstances behind Madelle’s request were later determined to not meet legal requirements. The cellphone belonged to a person with whom he had a relationship, something Madelle did not tell the dispatcher when he made the request, the commission said.
Hours after requesting the ping, Madelle called the police station again to ask an officer to check on the license plate of the person's vehicle. Running a plate can potentially provide information about a vehicle’s location.
Public employees are prohibited from using or attempting to use their official positions to obtain valuable unwarranted privileges.
The Ethics Commission initiated a preliminary inquiry into the matter on March 17, 2022. The inquiry ended on Dec. 15, 2022, after which the commission ruled there was reasonable cause to believe Madelle violated conflict of interest laws. The finding was released by the commission Wednesday.
Charlton Police Chief Daniel Dowd said Madelle is still employed with the Charlton Police Department.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Charlton police sergeant tracked acquaintance, violating ethics laws; pays $10,000 fine
