EAST FALMOUTH, Mass. — A scathing investigative report, finally released after a sustained public records push by 25 Investigates, reveals a culture of abuse and degradation at the new state-run East Falmouth Police Academy.
The document outlines complaints of physical injuries to recruits, details how student officers in the academy’s 1st Recruit Officer Course (ROC) were mentally and physically abused, forced into punitive physical training, and denied bathroom breaks.
The six-month investigation, conducted by the Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC) with assistance from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, found that several staff instructors, Academy Director Christopher Donelan, and the Academy Coordinator Edward Dunne engaged in conduct that violated training policies and a Code of Conduct.
Former Academy Director Donelan sought to give the class a “shock and awe experience”, according to the report. It says: punitive training was routinely used for punishment and discipline, forcing student officers to engage in activities that had “no training purpose or nexus to the job of a police officer”. Recruits faced forced exposure when they were made to dump 32-ounce water bottles over themselves while exercising in below-freezing temperatures, and were made to perform excessive PT outside in the cold without proper attire.
One Sergeant pushed recruits’ faces into the mud and ice with their boots to force them lower while crawling up a hill, with one recruit reporting injury to his eye after being pushed into the ground. Recruits were also “denied adequate bathroom breaks”. The report notes that one break was so short that two of the eleven female student officers in the class “had to urinate in the shower stalls.”
Recruits were subjected to humiliation when, during a bag inspection, a female recruit’s underwear was taken out of her bag and thrown on the parade deck. Instructors were reported to have made comments about the “nature and style of the underwear to the entire class”.
Recruits sustained multiple injuries, including severe bruising and sprains. Two student officers were transported to the hospital—one for a laceration and sprain after falling on the icy hill, and another for dehydration and exhaustion. The MPTC was “not notified of any of these injuries” or the hospitalizations, in violation of policy.
In August, the MPTC fired Donelan and Dunne. The instructor certifications of five of the nine East staff instructors have been permanently revoked.
In an emailed statement, Chris Donelan wrote, “So many of the activities in the report are taken out of context, and there are many inaccuracies. The bottom line is the MPTC wants police academies to be stress-free, easy, and non-confrontational…”
MPTC Executive Director Rick Rathbun said he understood the public interest when Investigative Reporter Ted Daniel asked him about it last week. “This is not an indication of what we see every day… the staff, the instructors, particularly at the academies, are delivering a high level with the expectation that the public wants to see their officers that are highly trained and professional,” he said.
However, he acknowledged the severity of the findings, stating that the incident “spotlights that there’s always a need to be aware and alert to when something comes to light that it requires a deliberate and immediate approach to it”.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
