Brookline officer quits amid inquiry

Brookline officer quits amid inquiry

By Brock Parker, Globe Correspondent  |  November 6, 2010
A Brookline police officer who visited a local television station after he was reported missing this summer resigned Wednesday as the town was preparing to hold a hearing on whether he should be fired.

Thomas Shea, 41, of Canton, resigned before the Board of Selectmen could hold a disciplinary hearing about him in executive session Wednesday evening, said Sandra DeBow, Brookline’s human resources director.

When a police officer goes on unauthorized leave it raises a lot of questions about breaches of police department rules and regulations, said DeBow.

Shea declined to comment yesterday. The Brookline Police Union had been representing him. Its president, Bobby Murphy, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Shea had been a member of the Brookline Police Department since 1996 and is the nephew, by marriage, of Police Chief Daniel O’Leary. Shea’s wife, Kim, reported him missing to Canton police on Aug. 26.

At the time, Brookline police issued a press release saying they were worried about the missing officer’s well-being.

Shortly after he was reported missing, Shea was spotted at WBZ’s television studios in Brighton, where he asked to speak with several news people before he disappeared again. Shea had been president of JustStolen.net, a defunct website. In 2006, the television station had done a report highlighting the efforts of Shea’s website to create a database in which people could register valuables so they could be tracked if stolen.

After Shea was seen at the television station, Brookline police said they were able to recover his firearm with the assistance of a family member in early September.

In mid-September, police said Shea contacted his family, and the missing person’s report was withdrawn.

But Shea never returned to work, Brookline Police Lieutenant Phil Harrington said yesterday. Shea had been on paid leave since June for an injury he received on the job before he was reported missing. But he was moved to unpaid leave while he was missing and he has not been paid by the department since then, DeBow said.

Brock Parker can be reached at brock.globe@gmail.com