BOSTON – Boston Police provided two uniformed officers on motorcycles to escort a funeral procession — only later to find out the deceased was a convicted child rapist.
Boston Police Superintendent Robert Dunford apologized for the escort at Wednesday's funeral of Mark Carey, whose brother is a current Boston police officer. Carey was convicted in 1998 of assaulting a girl throughout her childhood.
"We had no idea of this. If we had, we would have contacted the officer and said, 'Listen, we're not able to do this,"' Dunford told The Boston Globe.
Dunford said the department routinely provides escorts to officers' deceased family members.
The victim's grandmother, who was not identified to protect the identity of the girl, said she was shocked to see the officers.
"He doesn't deserve that, no on the dollar of the taxpayer," she said. "To have him go out of this world like a hero, like he was a soldier from Iraq ... it's a disgrace."
She said her granddaughter has married and moved out of state, but still is haunted by the sexual abuse she experienced from age 9 to 18.
The police superintendent said providing funeral escorts is part of motorcycle officers' job description, and therefore does not cost taxpayers any extra for overtime or other costs. He said officers will now be asked not to take advantage of the funeral escorts for relatives with serious criminal histories.
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