Boston Mayor Kim Janey fires embattled police commissioner Dennis White, effective immediately

BOSTON — Acting Boston Mayor Kim Janey held a news conference Monday to announce she has officially fired Dennis White, the Boston Police Commissioner who came under fire for past domestic violence allegations.

Janey says White’s dismissal is effective immediately.

Last week, White spent about an hour with Janey during his removal hearing to give his final plea to keep his job. The Mayor moved to fire him after she says an independent investigation found White physically abused his ex-wife back in the 90s.

“It is clear that Dennis White’s return as commissioner would send a chilling message to victims of domestic violence in our city and reinforce a culture of fear and a blue wall of silence in our police department,” Mayor Janey said.

Janey has not yet named a replacement for Boston Police Commissioner. A spokesperson from the acting mayor’s office released the following statement about that potential decision:

“Mayor Janey will make a decision regarding interim leadership of the Boston Police Department in the coming weeks, including plans for a national search for a permanent replacement near the end of the year.”

“Racism is a burden carried by both men and women of color and I will not turn a blind eye to domestic violence against black women or any woman for that matter in the Boston Police Department or anywhere else,” Mayor Janey said.

Mayor Janey said now she wants to improve accountability within BPD by requiring background checks for any candidates for a leadership role in the department, as well as strengthening BPD’s domestic violence policy, and she’s proposing a new sexual assault policy within the police force.

“We must have practices and procedures that protect victims from police intimidation, taken into account the unique sensitivity of sexual violence,” Mayor Janey said.

Mayor Janey said she’ll announce plans in the coming weeks for a national search for a new Boston Police Commissioner, but she would not say whether that job would be filled before the city’s mayoral election this fall.

Nick Carter, the attorney for Dennis White, released a statement following Mayor Janey’s announcement:

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