The president of the Worcester branch of the NAACP has officially called on City Councilor-at-Large Kathleen Toomey to temporarily step down from her post as head of the Standing Committee on Public Safety. The demand comes as the Worcester Police Department conducts an internal affairs investigation into whether responding officers showed preferential treatment to the long-serving municipal official following a late-night vehicular collision earlier this month.
In a formal press release addressed to Worcester Mayor Joseph M. Petty, NAACP President Fred Taylor insisted that Toomey should be urged to step back from her leadership duties while law enforcement completes its inquiry. Taylor stressed that relieving Toomey of her public safety leadership role would represent a vital step toward restoring public confidence, ensuring transparent municipal governance, and safeguarding the integrity of local law enforcement oversight.
The controversy stems from an incident that occurred around midnight on September 2, when Toomey's vehicle collided with an unoccupied parked car as she was returning home from a local establishment. According to released police documents and police body camera recordings, the impact was severe enough that both vehicles sustained significant damage and had to be towed from the roadway.
According to captured body camera footage, when responding officers inquired about the events leading up to the crash, Toomey told law enforcement that she was simply driving down the street and could not remember anything else about what caused the impact. The timing of the incident coincided with the Massachusetts primary election on September 1, which her attorney suggested she may have been attending earlier in the evening.
Further examination of the body camera recordings highlighted several moments that drew scrutiny from community leaders. During the interaction, Toomey reportedly took multiple minutes to locate her driver’s license, initially handed officers a different document, and explicitly asked the responding officers to contact Police Chief Paul Saucier. Footage also documented Toomey mentioning that she was attempting to reach Sgt. Anthony Petrone, a former representative for the Worcester Patrolmen's Union.
Police Chief Paul Saucier subsequently confirmed that an internal investigation was initiated on the very day of the collision to determine whether the responding officers adhered to proper protocols and to confirm that no favoritism or special treatment was afforded to the councilor. Saucier clarified that Toomey never successfully contacted him during or immediately following the crash, adding that he was unaware of any other members of the department being contacted on her behalf during the incident.
Community advocates and civic leaders have raised critical questions regarding the standard procedures applied at the scene, pointing out that officers did not administer field sobriety tests before concluding their on-site response. Saucier has noted that department leadership cannot formally evaluate or comment on the officers’ on-scene determinations until the internal affairs division finalizes its comprehensive findings.
In his public statement, Taylor criticized the handling of the crash scene, underscoring that the councilor’s delays in presenting identification, her attempts to provide alternate documentation, and her requests to involve high-ranking police officials should have served as clear flags for officers to conduct a deeper investigation. Taylor noted that such indicators typically warrant rigorous, standardized scrutiny from responding personnel.
Compounding the controversy is Toomey's participation in City Council business immediately following the accident. On September 8, just six days after the collision, Toomey attended a municipal meeting where she actively voted against recommending the creation of an independent civilian review board for the police department. At the time of the vote, neither the collision nor the internal affairs inquiry had been disclosed to the public or the broader council.
Taylor condemned Toomey's failure to recuse herself from matters directly concerning police accountability while her own conduct and the actions of the responding officers were actively under internal review. He argued that taking part in votes on law enforcement oversight during an active, undisclosed departmental probe represented a clear conflict of interest that undermined public faith in the council's legislative proceedings.
Toomey has maintained a prominent presence in local government for over two decades, currently serving her eleventh two-year term as a councilor-at-large. Outside of her legislative responsibilities, city biographical records indicate that she is employed as a post-release and reintegration specialist with the Worcester County Sheriff's Office, a background that places her in frequent contact with regional criminal justice entities.
Her defense attorney, Michael Wilcox, previously rejected assertions that alcohol contributed to the crash, characterizing the incident as an unfortunate driving accident. While Wilcox spoke on the nature of the collision shortly after the details surfaced, he could not be reached for comment regarding the calls for Toomey to vacate her committee chairmanship.
The Worcester NAACP is not alone in demanding accountability; the Civilian Review Board Coalition, a local network of advocacy organizations, has similarly pressed for Toomey’s removal from the public safety committee. Advocates have linked the handling of Toomey's crash to broader discussions about police conduct, drawing comparisons to a separate collision involving UMass Chan Medical School campus police Lt. Gregory Markiewicz, who faces drunken driving charges.
As the presiding officer of the City Council, Mayor Joseph M. Petty retains the authority to assign and adjust council committee leadership. Petty has not yet publicly indicated whether he will request Toomey's resignation from the post, having remained silent after initial media inquiries regarding the situation.
The ongoing internal affairs investigation continues to place scrutiny on the Worcester Police Department's adherence to impartial enforcement standards. With municipal leaders and civil rights organizations closely watching the outcome, the situation highlights deep-seated tensions over police oversight, ethics in public office, and the expectations placed on Worcester's elected officials.
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