Chelsea Cop Has Been Handcuffed

Poor fellow.

"Ex-Chelsea officer pleads to beating handcuffed detainee" by Travis Andersen Globe Staff  November 25, 2015

A former Chelsea police officer admitted on Tuesday to beating a handcuffed detainee and filing a false report about the attack, which left the victim with a badly damaged jaw and blurred vision, authorities said.

Felix Rivera Jr., 34, of Lynn, was sentenced to two years’ probation, and Judge Peter Krupp continued a felony civil rights violation charge without a finding, over the objections of prosecutors, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office said. The civil rights charge will be dismissed after two years if Rivera abides by several conditions, including staying away from the victim and participating in an anger management program.

“We maintain that a felony conviction was appropriate to these facts,” Conley said in the statement. “This wasn’t police work. It was criminal conduct. ... There’s no room in law enforcement for an officer who would beat a handcuffed suspect or lie in a report.”

Initially, the victim was charged with assaulting a police officer, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest, but Conley’s office dropped the case after the man’s lawyer provided prosecutors with a witness’s video clip in March, the statement said.

Rivera was later placed on unpaid leave and resigned his position in September, according to officials. He is unemployed.

“He has applied for a variety of jobs, but . . . mainly due to the publicity and the open charges, he hasn’t been able to find work,” Keith J. Nicholson, a lawyer for Rivera, said in a phone interview.

In a statement, Chelsea Police Chief Brian Kyes said that an “officer’s misconduct tarnishes not only one individual’s badge of office but also the good name and reputation of the vast majority of police officers who perform their duties each and every day admirably, honestly, and often times at great risk to their own personal safety.”

He's handcuffed all cops now.

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UPDATE: Suffolk DA clears Chelsea police in 2014 Taser death