Officer's arrest in Salem touches off wider investigation into Lynn police

Julie Manganis, The Salem News, Beverly, Mass.
·2 min read

Apr. 23—SALEM — The arrest of a Lynn police officer in Salem last December has led to an internal affairs investigation by Lynn police into alleged misconduct, including suspected references to drug use and the use of racist slurs in text messages.

Seven officers are now on leave pending the outcome of that investigation, Lynn police said in a statement.

The charges against Lynn Patrolman Joseph Plessas, 28, which included assault and battery on a pregnant victim, domestic assault and battery and threats to commit a crime, were dropped by the District Attorney's office based on what a spokeswoman for the office said was a lack of "sufficient, credible evidence to prove the criminal case at trial."

The prosecution filed a formal notice ceasing prosecution of the case on April 12.

However, in the course of investigating that case, the district attorney's office discovered possible evidence of unrelated misconduct by some Lynn police officers, spokeswoman Carrie Kimball said.

The following day, the District Attorney's office turned that information over to the Lynn police department, which is conducting its own internal affairs probe.

Kimball said her office would not comment further on the matter due to the active and ongoing nature of the Lynn police investigation.

Plessas was not directly identified by the district attorney's office, but his name is included in the court case file.

Plessas, a military veteran, was hired by Lynn police in 2019, according to the department's Facebook page. His name also appears on a list of eligible candidates for the Massachusetts state police.

His arrest did not appear in the publicly-available police log provided by Salem police for that date due to a 2014 amendment to state law that now requires police to hide the names of anyone arrested on charges related to domestic violence or sex crimes. The intent of that law was to spare family members or victims from embarrassment that might stop them from reporting such crimes.

The report comes just weeks after now-former Lynn police officer Matthew Coppinger, 35, was arraigned on charges stemming from an alleged beating of a man in custody at the Lynn police station in June 2020.

Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at jmanganis@salemnews.com or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis.

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