Trooper Sean Murphy Relieved Of Duty After Releasing Tsarnaev Photos
Sgt. Sean Murphy, the state trooper who today released police photos of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, has been relieved of duty.
The Mass. State Police said that turning over photos to Boston Magazine was an unauthorized act, and as a result Murphy has reportedly been stripped of his gun, badge, and computer while an internal investigation takes place. A gag order has also been imposed on the police tactical photographer according to CBS News. Reportedly he will be called before a disciplinary hearing sometime next week.
As we previously reported, Sgt. Murphy said that the image of Tsarnaev on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine was an insult to the families of the Boston Marathon bombing victims. He sent behind-the-scenes photos to bostonmagazine.com showing the bloody capture of the suspected bomber as kind of counter to the Rolling Stone edition.
Sgt. Murphy previously explained why he decided to release the photos:
“As a professional law-enforcement officer of 25 years, I believe that the image that was portrayed by Rolling Stone magazine was an insult to any person who has every worn a uniform of any color or any police organization or military branch, and the family members who have ever lost a loved one serving in the line of duty. The truth is that glamorizing the face of terror is not just insulting to the family members of those killed in the line of duty, it also could be an incentive to those who may be unstable to do something to get their face on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine… Photography is very simple, it’s very basic. It brings us back to the cave. An image like this on the cover of Rolling Stone, we see it instantly as being wrong. What Rolling Stone did was wrong. This guy is evil. This is the real Boston bomber. Not someone fluffed and buffed for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.”
#BREAKING: Sgt. Sean Murphy who took/released Boston Bombing suspect Tsarnaev photos relieved of duty – @johnwolfson pic.twitter.com/UHScgKMmXt
— Tim Williams (@TimWilliamsCBS) July 19, 2013
