LAWRENCE — Kyle Wilcox, recently convicted of assaulting two men he arrested, will be fired, police Chief John J. Romero said.
Wilcox, 31, will be served with a termination letter and a Civil Service hearing will be held within five days, Romero said. Civil service is a state law governing the hiring and firing of certain state and municipal employees.
Wilcox was convicted Tuesday in Worcester District Court of two counts of assault and battery. The charges stem from the Dec. 22, 2006, arrest of brothers Moises and Rubenito Fernandez during a tenant dispute. The brothers said they were brought to the station, where Wilcox pushed Rubenito to the ground in the station's vehicle bay and Wilcox hit Moises across the head with a hard object while he was handcuffed.
Wilcox, a four-year member of the department, was sentenced to one year in jail suspended and placed on probation for one year on each of the two assault and battery charges, the sentences to run concurrent.
Wilcox' lawyer said following the sentencing that no decision had been made about whether to appeal the findings.
Wilcox has been accused by others of police brutality. The city tried to fire him in July based on charges he mistreated a prisoner in a holding cell at the police station on Jan. 6, 2007. A state civil service hearing officer concluded there wasn't enough evidence to support the prisoner's allegations.
