The Boston Police Department is under fire for failing to turn over records in an internal affairs investigation of an officer involved in a high-speed chase that killed three teenagers and is subject to other complaints.

Attorney Zachary Cloud is requesting that the court hold Boston Police in contempt and dismiss a case against his client who was indicted on firearms charges after a traffic stop, an incident that involved the officer subject to the investigation.

Suffolk Superior Judge Katie Rayburn took Cloud’s requests under advisement on Tuesday, while BPD’s internal affairs investigation of Officer Triston Champagnie continues more than a year after it started.

Rayburn advanced the case to a May 21 status conference and a June 25 hearing on a motion to suppress.

Champagnie arrested Joe Simmons Jr. on June 20, 2023, in Dorchester on firearms charges, with the officer finding a loaded Kel-Tec P-11 in the glove compartment of Simmons’ girlfriend’s SUV.

Champagnie pulled Simmons over in the early hours of that morning after he allegedly drove through a red light and failed to use a turn signal.

Cloud has questioned the officer’s credibility, which he says will be a “key issue for the judge taking evidence in any motion to suppress hearing,” because critical parts of the traffic stop happened before a body camera was activated.

Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Danielle Madden has countered that Champagnie’s body camera captured “every portion of the interaction (except for) the reason for the stop.”

The defense counsel’s concerns were exacerbated when it learned last summer that the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and BPD had been investigating Champagnie for his involvement in a fatal high-speed chase in January 2024, according to Cloud’s motion to dismiss.

Per the Boston Globe, Champagnie, sitting in the passenger seat, and Officer Matthew Farley, the driver, continued to pursue a suspected stolen vehicle at a high speed despite Champagnie’s acknowledgment of a supervisor’s command to “terminate.” Three teenagers in the car, which reached speeds of 106 mph, died after they crashed, while a fourth occupant survived. A pistol was found inside.

The DA’s office did not press criminal charges against Champagnie and Farley, who remain subject to the BPD internal affairs investigation and are not allowed to have department-issued guns and uniforms, the Globe reported last week.

BPD has failed to produce internal affairs records that Simmons’ defense requested last August before a subsequent court order.

In court on Tuesday, Cloud argued that dismissal of his client’s case is an “appropriate remedy,” with “how long this has proceeded and how flagrantly they’ve violated the court’s order.”

“They flat out refused to comply with the court’s orders,” Cloud said. “That’s what this is really about: People who can flout court orders. Obviously, people like me, people like Mr. Simmons can’t. If we don’t (follow) court orders, we get held in contempt.”

Robert Arcangeli, assistant corporation counsel for the BPD, said the issue is complicated because of the investigation’s pending nature, with interviews still occurring as recently as Monday.

“The department wants to conduct its investigation free of having to publicly release this information where it’s available to the officers who are subject to the investigation,” he said. “Investigations take time.”

Cloud said a police attorney told him Monday that he could visit BPD headquarters and seek documents, but he argued that it doesn’t adequately address the issue.

Cloud called it “unthinkable” that it took months for BPD to turn over all internal affairs complaints against Champagnie, who earned $111,387.05 in total pay last year, according to city payroll records. One complaint stemmed from a June 2023 incident, just days before Simmons’ arrest, with the officer “improperly handling a firearm,” causing it to discharge and damage property.

Cloud said Simmons, who had a previous criminal record before his June 2023 arrest, is losing out on job opportunities as the case continues to be delayed without the “exculpatory internal affairs files.”

In an opposition to dismiss, filed Monday, ADA Madden argued that “because the defendant suffers no prejudice, no remedy is necessary, and sanctions are not appropriate.”

“There has been no deliberate misconduct nor any bad faith by the prosecution,” she stated.

Originally Published: April 15, 2025 at 6:54 PM EDT