Shana Cottone and Joe Abasciano, two Boston cops involved with the anti-vaccine-mandate push over the past year and a half, say they’ve been fired.
Cottone, who had been a police sergeant, led the Boston First Responders Union, a group that started to push back on the employee COVID-19 vaccine mandates that Mayor Michelle Wu put into place in December 2021.
Those mandates ultimately never were enforced, but Cottone was placed on leave last January. After that, she and a small group of assorted protesters continued to dog Wu around the city, bullhorn-amplified chants of “shame on Wu” showing up at assorted public events that ranged from criticism of North End dining fees to press conferences of Mass and Cass.
The mayor last year introduced legislation ultimately passed by the council that limits targeted demonstrations at people’s homes to daytime hours.
The Boston Police Department cited several internal-affairs complaints against Cottone, including ones around “Conduct,” Neglect of Duty” and “Statement of Opinions.”
“Cottone’s conduct in these cases reflects a pattern and inability to adhere to the rules and procedures of this Department,” BPD Commissioner Michael Cox said in a statement Monday night. “These violations along with Cottone’s disciplinary history render her unsuitable to continue her employment with the Boston Police Department and thus her employment has been terminated.”
Abasciano, a patrol officer, has been out on medical leave, but at one point was the subject of an investigation into whether he’d done anything wrong by attending the rally former President Donald Trump held before some of Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Wu last summer said “it’s my understanding” that no Boston cops entered the Capitol that day, but probes continued.
Cox said in a statement that Abasciano “authored a series of social media posts that called into question his ability to provide police services in an unbiased and objective manner. Abasciano’s conduct impairs the operation of this Department and its employees by diminishing the Department’s reputation and trust within the community.”
The BFRU said in a statement, “The cases against both officers are both politically motivated and retaliation for speaking out in support of personal choice and freedom of speech.”
“Boston deserves police officers who will speak out against injustice no matter the source, who will not blindly hold the thin blue line, but will speak truth to power, no matter what, the BFRU said. “Boston also deserves a Mayor who will support those very types of officers, not fire them.”
The lawyer for the Boston Police Superior Officers Federation said the union is planning on filing for arbitration on Cottone’s behalf. The attorney, Patrick Bryant, said her matter “is inconsistent with how the department has handled other cases.”
Abasciano’s attorney William Gens said his client was fired for “conduct unbecoming because he made off-duty tweets that questioned the results of last election.” Gens said he “most certainly will” appeal the firing.
The Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association declined to comment.
Abasciano said in a statement that he’s “being terminated as a case of discrimination, retaliation and political targeting.”
“I am having my constitutional rights violated. I am being terminated for violating a nonexistent social media policy where I never represented myself as a Boston Police Officer in any way and when I was on my own time,” he said, adding he “never supported or condoned any acts of violence or violations of the law.”
