LAWRENCE — A Lawrence police officer who was cleared of police brutality allegations by a state civil service hearing officer earlier this year has been convicted of abusing two Lawrence brothers in an unrelated criminal case.
Officer Kyle Wilcox was found guilty yesterday of two counts of assault and battery after a weeklong bench trial before Judge David Ricciardone in Worcester District Court.
Wilcox, 30, who joined the Lawrence police force in May 2004, is scheduled to be sentenced today on misdemeanor charges for which he could receive up to two and a half years in the county jail for each offense.
The officer's conviction could also lead to his firing — something the city tried to do in July of last year when Mayor Michael Sullivan terminated him for mistreating a prisoner in a holding cell at the police station on Jan. 6, 2007. But that firing was overturned in February when a civil service hearing officer concluded there wasn't enough evidence to support the prisoner's allegations.
After learning of Wilcox's conviction, Lawrence police Chief John Romero said he directed Capt. Scott McNamara to order the officer to surrender his gun and shield.
"This was done at about 6 o'clock, and the officer was immediately placed on administrative leave with pay," Romero said.
"We will confer with the city attorney's office to discuss additional measures to be taken and then proceed," the chief said.
Wilcox had been working inside the police station on administrative desk duty pending the outcome of his trial.
The criminal case against Wilcox was transferred from Lawrence District Court to Worcester District Court a year ago to remove any appearance of a potential conflict involving the Lawrence Police Department. An assistant clerk magistrate in Worcester determined there was probable cause for charges to be filed against Wilcox after a hearing last fall.
Moises and Rubenito Fernandez, who are brothers, accused Wilcox of beating them after their arrest during a tenant dispute on Myrtle Street on Dec. 22, 2006. Rubenito Fernandez, 43, alleged Wilcox forced him to the ground in the vehicle bay of Lawrence police headquarters.
Moises Fernandez, 40, claimed Wilcox hit him across the head with a hard object while he was handcuffed in a basement holding area known as the "pink room."
The Fernandez brothers faced a variety of charges stemming from their arrest, in which Wilcox claimed the pair threw a tenant's property outside and that they also resisted arrest. Those charges were later dismissed by a judge because prosecutors and police failed to provide critical information to a defense attorney in a timely manner.
The brothers filed civil complaints against Wilcox, asking that he face criminal charges.
Wilcox received a 30-day suspension after an internal affairs investigation of the incident. The mayor cited Wilcox for failing to protect Moises Fernandez while Fernandez was in custody. The officer appealed that disciplinary action and requested a civil service hearing.
There have been a number of allegations about police brutality involving the officer. Mayor Sullivan fired Wilcox last year after an internal police investigation found Wilcox willfully mistreated 19-year-old Eusebio Alicea on Jan. 6, 2007. Alicea, 20, had been arrested on marijuana possession, resisting arrest and other charges.
Alicea said Wilcox punched him in the ribs and kicked him while he was handcuffed inside a Police Department holding room in January. On that day, Alicea had been arrested and charged with smoking marijuana and running from police. He also claimed Wilcox used hot water to wash pepper spray from his eyes and that officers kicked and punched him when he was arrested.
Xavier Guzman, another prisoner in the holding cell, said Wilcox wore black leather gloves with metal caps on the knuckles while punching Alicea in the face.
"Based on the testimony of the officers, the lack of further photographic evidence as to injuries, the inconsistent statements of Mr. Alicea and (Xavier) Guzman, the hearing officer finds that the preponderance of the evidence supports a finding that the injuries to Mr. Alicea were sustained at the scene after his flight from police," hearing officer Mark Ford wrote in his eight-page report.
"The preponderance of the evidence does not support the allegations of Mr. Alicea and Mr. Guzman and does not support a firing of Officer Kyle Wilcox," Ford said.
Eagle-Tribune reporter Jim Patten contributed to this report.
