Worcester city councilor’s controversial crash leads to investigation

Worcester City Councilor Kathleen Toomey temporarily stepped down as chair of the city’s Public Safety Committee amid public scrutiny and a police investigation into a Sept. 2 motor vehicle crash.

Toomey, an 11-term councilor-at-large who works with the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, also announced she will recuse herself from matters involving the Worcester Police Department. The announcement comes about two weeks after she crashed into a parked vehicle just after midnight on Sept. 2, according to a statement released Tuesday.

Police body-worn camera footage acquired by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette showed Toomey after the crash attempting to contact a Worcester police sergeant and asking officers to contact Chief Paul Saucier. 

Critics say Toomey attempted to use her position to get preferential treatment, while Michael Wilcox, Toomey’s attorney, told Boston.com that the situation is “much ado about nothing.”

“She’s [stepping back] because she doesn’t want there to be any kind of appearance of impropriety,” Wilcox said. “She’s acting in the best interest of her committee.”

Worcester police opened an internal investigation Sept. 2 into whether the officers gave Toomey preferential treatment and followed departmental policies, police wrote in an email to Boston.com. The investigation is ongoing.

Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty appointed Vice Chair Morris Bergman to temporarily fill Toomey’s vacancy, he said in a statement Tuesday. A third person will be appointed to fill in on the committee as needed.

“Councilor Toomey made the right, responsible decision to voluntarily step aside from the Public Safety Committee while the internal review is underway,” Petty wrote in a statement. “She has always respected the institutions of our city, and stepping down to eliminate any potential perception of conflicts reflects that commitment.”

Fred Taylor, president of the Worcester branch of the NAACP, wrote to Boston.com that Toomey temporarily stepping down is a “good first step.” However, he and Giselle Rivera-Flores, a member of the Civilian Review Board Coalition, a local group calling for increased civilian oversight of the police, still have questions. 

“Utilizing her authority for preferential treatment … are things that are not privy to every single person that gets pulled over for hitting a parked car,” Rivera-Flores said in an interview with Boston.com. “That is what we’re calling to attention: Can we have transparency? Can we have accountability for all folks, not just for some folks?”

The Sept. 2 incident and body-worn camera footage

Toomey collided with an unoccupied vehicle around 12:03 a.m. on Sept. 2, Worcester Police Sgt. Elise Miranda confirmed in an email. No injuries were reported, but a tow truck was requested for both vehicles. 

Worcester police officers completed the required accident report before leaving the scene, Miranda wrote.

Body-worn camera footage of the encounter shows Toomey struggling to find her license for more than three minutes after police asked. She then tells police, “I was driving down the street. That’s all I remember.”

Toomey wrote in her Tuesday statement that the vehicle she struck was “unlawfully parked.” Body-worn camera footage shows the vehicle partially parked on the sidewalk and the road. 

At one point during the body-worn camera footage, Toomey asks the officers: “Can you call the chief?” The officers don’t respond to the question and ask if she is calling a ride. A few minutes later, Toomey tells the officer she is trying to get ahold of Anthony Petrone — a Worcester police sergeant and former union leader.

Wilcox said that Toomey is neighbors with Petrone, and she wanted to call the chief because she wanted the incident handled “by the book.” He added she made no attempt to use her title with officers. 

Public scrutiny and calls for removal

In the past week, several Worcester-based community organizations have criticized Toomey and the police response to the incident, calling for a full timeline of the incident and Toomey’s removal from the Public Safety Committee.

“The allegations surrounding this incident involve judgment, accountability, and public safety, all of which fall directly within the committee’s responsibilities,” Taylor, with the NAACP, wrote in a letter to the mayor. “As a lawmaker and public official, she should be held to the highest standard.”

The organizations criticized the police for muting their body-worn cameras during the incident. The footage showed the officers muting the cameras while talking to one another.

According to the department’s policy, officers are allowed to mute the body-worn camera for “tactical or strategic discussions among officers,” as well as situations involving personal or medical privacy and victim or witness privacy. However, officers should state the reason for muting before activating the function, whenever practicable, according to the policy.

The organizations also criticized the officers’ apparent failure to conduct a field sobriety test or administer a breathalyzer during the incident. The released body cam footage does not include footage of a sobriety test being administered to Toomey; police did not confirm whether officers administered one to her.

“There was no need for a field sobriety test,” Wilcox, Toomey’s attorney, said.

The statements from the Civilian Review Board Coalition and the NAACP point to what they describe as “indicators of impairment,” such as Toomey’s failure to recollect what happened, difficulty locating her license, attempt to give officers a card that wasn’t her license, and her recent departure from a restaurant. 

Toomey wrote in her Tuesday statement that “she was not in any way impaired and will face no charges.”

Toomey stepping down comes one week after the Worcester City Council voted 8-3 against the creation of a civilian review board following a yearslong push for independent oversight of the police department, WGBH reported. The push heightened following a 2024 Department of Justice report following an investigation into the department.

“We’ve been waiting for police officers to investigate themselves, and it’s obviously not working,” Rivera-Flores said.