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25 Investigates: Assistant to police chief gives up badge and gun

An assistant to a local police chief – who was pulling over drivers and responding to police scenes – turned in his badge and gun just months after 25 Investigates reported on the “special police” powers he had been given.

Brian Simoneau resigned as a Framingham special police officer in the fall, but his gun wasn’t turned into the department’s armory until January, 25 Investigates uncovered.

Simoneau’s official title is assistant to the police chief, but he has also held the unpaid position of “special police officer” and the police chief issued him a police badge, a police gun and a fully equipped unmarked police vehicle.

Simoneau resigned from his unpaid position as special police officer Oct. 11, but still holds his $111,000 city job as assistant to the police chief and receives a $300 weekly stipend as a lawyer for the police department.

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Simoneau emailed 25 Investigates a statement, saying, “… I voluntarily resigned as special officer because my appointment has been unfairly exploited...”

A city spokeswoman said Simoneau turned in his police-issued gun to Framingham Police Chief Ken Ferguson when he resigned Oct. 11, but that gun was not turned into the department armory until Jan. 9.

The spokeswoman told 25 Investigates the weapon remained “under lock and key within his locker located in the chief’s office” during the months in between.

Scott Brown, president of the Framingham Police Superior Officers Association, has been a longtime critic of Simoneau being allowed to be a special police officer because special police officers don’t have to have the same training as full-time cops.

Brown says it’s unusual to not turn in a police-issued gun to the department armory immediately.

“Normally they won’t keep possession of that weapon,” said Brown. “It would go straight to the arms room.”

Brown said he didn’t learn Simoneau had resigned his special police officer position until this week.

In May, 25 Investigates uncovered Simoneau had been pulling over drivers, issuing traffic citations and responding to police scenes.

25 Investigates obtained dispatch recordings showing Simoneau responding to police scenes. During one call on May 1, 2015, he tried to slow other officers heading to the scene of an alleged assault:

•    SIMONEAU: All units responding to Dom's can slow down. Slow your response.  It's under control.
•    DISPATCHER: Uh, who's this?  We don't have you on the roster here.
•    SIMONEAU: Brian Simoneau

Although Framingham’s lawyer says Simoneau has some law enforcement background, state law exempts special officers from the same police academy training as full-time cops.

Framingham Police Chief Ken Ferguson declined to speak with 25 Investigates on camera, but in an emailed statement said, “there was no legal issue” with Simoneau serving as a special officer and he resigned “because it had become an unnecessary distraction."

25 Investigates also reached out to Framingham’s new mayor – Yvonne Spicer – who declined to comment.