'It's Disappointing,' Marty Walsh Insists He Didn't Know About Dennis White's Domestic Issues
BOSTON (CBS) - "It's disappointing," says U.S. Secretary of Labor and former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh of the claims that he knew of suspended Boston Police Commissioner Dennis White's domestic issues before he appointed him the city's top cop back in February. "It's really disappointing."
Walsh's remarks Friday in his first formal Boston TV interview on the topic left no room for ambiguity about his rejection of assertions by White and former Commissioner Willie Gross that he had been briefed on the past allegations of domestic violence against White, which were investigated by the BPD internal affairs division but never resulted in any charges or discipline. Former Commissioner William Evans has backed Walsh's version of events.
"I had no knowledge of Dennis White's past. I had no understanding of it. If I had obviously decisions would have been different. I wish I had known," Walsh told WBZ-TV.
Asked what he'd like to say to Bostonians puzzled and concerned by the they said/they said conflict, Walsh added: "I always speak the truth, people know that, people who know me know that, and if I had known that situation we would not be having this conversation right now."
In the exclusive interview with WBZ, Walsh also discussed the meaning of the latest job numbers released Friday morning, the progress of negotiations over the Biden administration infrastructure spending proposals, and his concerns about the ability of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which he oversees as labor secretary, to properly enforce workplace safety rules.
The interview airs in its entirety this Sunday, June 6, at 8:30 a.m. on the WBZ-TV morning news.