An attorney for Springfield police officer Gregg Bigda went before a state commission Thursday, arguing that while his client has “messed up” in several cases in the past, a move to keep him from getting re-certified should be rejected.
In January, “an initial decision” was issued regarding Bigda, who has been applying for recertification with the Peace Officer Standards and Training or “POST” Commission.
The commission’s Division of Police Certification went on to deny his application, kicking off an appeals process that eventually led to a nearly three-day-long hearing in October 2023 – one that included testimony from 13 witnesses and “hundreds of pages of written reports and records.”
The reason for so much detail – Bigda has been at the center of several incidents that were ultimately cited by the hearing officer, the Honorable Charles J. Hely (ret.), when he recommended POST deny his application.
“Officer Bigda has had a career which is defined by his misconduct on multiple dates in 2016, and in 2023, when he was, again, arrested just prior to the hearing,” said Shaun Martinez, who was representing the POST police certification division on Thursday.
During his time speaking, Martinez laid out the hearing officer’s rationale, while also giving an overview of Bigda’s previous actions, including an OUI arrest last year.
That includes a February 2016 incident involving an unmarked Springfield police cruiser that was stolen and later found in the Hampden County town of Palmer.
The vehicle was recovered and three juvenile suspects were apprehended. Before the commission, Martinez described how Bigda allegedly kicked two of the suspects at the scene.
While at the Palmer Police Department, in addition to not reading at least one of the suspects their Miranda rights, he hurled insults and threats, with much of his behavior and other acts caught on surveillance camera.
“All of his actions on this date on February 27, 2016, indicate that he does not have the good moral character and fitness that we require of our officers. under common law,” Martinez said.
Bigda, as well as another Springfield officer, Steven Vigneault, were later indicted, with Bigda facing multiple counts, including deprivation of rights (abusive interrogation) and obstructing justice via writing a false report.
According to the indictment, among other findings, Bigda was alleged to have used unreasonable force, spat on one teen, and said "Welcome to the white man's world” at one point. At least two of the teens in the case were Latino).
While later acquitted, Bigda’s alleged actions also led to a civil rights suit, resulting in the City of Springfield agreeing to pay a $262,500 settlement in 2022. A second suit was also filed and settled.
Bigda’s attorney acknowledged the behavior while speaking ahead of Martinez, all while arguing that it was not clear what standard was applied by the hearing officer in his initial decision, among other issues with the process.
“[Bigda] messed up, there's no doubt about it - he was inappropriate with respect to what happened in Palmer and in East Longmeadow,” Donald Keaveny Jr. told the commission. “But we were deprived of the opportunity to show that his treatment during this process has been different and harsher than other officers who, again, engaged in similar, if not worse, misconduct than officer Bigda.”
In mentioning East Longmeadow, Keaveny referenced another 2016 incident in March.
In that case, Bigda was accused of showing up at the home of his ex-girlfriend, trespassing, then entering her bedroom and “threatening to destroy” her and her boyfriend, among other actions.
The incident led to a restraining order, which Bigda was alleged to have violated later on.
Keaveny contends the January decision should be rejected, and that a new hearing should be scheduled. He also went on to describe other issues he encountered during the previous hearing, including a situation involving the City of Springfield leading up to the October hearing.
After allegedly not producing documents, the attorney claims city officials started producing documents shortly before the hearing, which merited a postponement request from Keaveny.
"We requested an extension of time in which - for the hearing, so we could properly prepare for this hearing and we were denied that opportunity,” he said. “And that denied us, and denied officer Bigda of his procedural due process rights for a fair opportunity to present evidence in his behalf. "
Keaveny also argued that since Bigda was disciplined after both the Palmer and East Longmeadow incidents, it was “completely inappropriate to consider those two incidents” in the previous decision, since Bigda complied with said discipline.
The Palmer discipline in question was the subject of scrutiny back in 2016, when then-Police Commissioner John Barbieri opted to suspend the officer for 60 days.
Following the end of both sides’ time speaking, the POST Commission indicated it will make a decision at a later meeting.
