The president of the Worcester branch of the NAACP has called for City Councilor-at-Large Kathleen Toomey to temporarily relinquish her position as the head of the Standing Committee on Public Safety. The demand comes amidst mounting public scrutiny surrounding a late-night vehicle collision involving the veteran councilor and a subsequent internal police department inquiry into how responding officers handled the scene.
In a formal press release sent to Mayor Joseph M. Petty, NAACP President Fred Taylor urged the city's chief executive to ask Toomey to step aside from her leadership role on the committee. Taylor emphasized that such an action is essential to demonstrating a genuine municipal commitment to transparency, ethical accountability, and rebuilding public trust between Worcester residents, local government leaders, and law enforcement institutions.
The controversy centers on an incident that occurred around midnight on Sept. 2, when Toomey's vehicle struck an unoccupied parked car while she was traveling home from a local restaurant. The collision caused enough damage that both Toomey's car and the parked vehicle had to be towed from the location, which took place just hours after the conclusion of the Massachusetts primary election on Sept. 1.
Records and released police body camera footage revealed that responding officers did not ask Toomey to participate in any field sobriety testing after arriving at the crash site. According to details highlighted in Taylor's statement, Toomey took several minutes to locate her driver's license, initially presented officers with a different document, and repeatedly attempted to involve high-ranking police personnel during the interaction.
When officers at the scene asked Toomey what had caused the collision, she responded by explaining that she was driving down the street and that was all she could remember before thanking the officers. Body camera recordings also documented Toomey asking the attending patrol officers to call the police chief and stating that she had been trying to reach Sgt. Anthony Petrone, a former union representative for the Worcester Patrolmen's Union.
Worcester Police Chief Paul Saucier subsequently clarified that Toomey did not make contact with him during the late-night encounter or in the immediate aftermath of the collision. Saucier added that, to the best of his knowledge, no other members of the Worcester Police Department received communications on Toomey's behalf that evening, while confirming that an internal investigation was initiated that same day to verify that responding officers had not granted her any preferential treatment.
Taylor voiced sharp criticism regarding the on-scene handling of the incident by responding officers, arguing that the councilor's disorientation, delay in producing identification, and requests to contact police leadership were obvious warning signs. In his written statement, Taylor maintained that these circumstances represented several clear indicators that should have immediately prompted the responding officers to conduct a more thorough investigation.
The timing of the crash and the delayed disclosure of the police department's internal review have further intensified local controversy. Just one week after the collision, on Sept. 8, Toomey attended a formal City Council meeting where she actively took part in deliberations and voted to recommend against establishing a civilian review board for the police department, all while the public remained entirely unaware of the Sept. 2 incident.
Taylor strongly condemned Toomey's decision to participate in council votes regarding police oversight while her own motor vehicle accident and the police department's response were under active administrative review. In his communication, Taylor asserted that it was deeply concerning for the councilor to participate in such proceedings, arguing that she should have, at minimum, recused herself from any debates or policy decisions affecting police accountability.
Toomey, who is currently serving her 11th two-year term as a councilor-at-large and works professionally as a post-release and reintegration specialist for the Worcester County Sheriff's Office, has built a long-standing record of vocal opposition toward civilian review boards. Her oversight role as chair of the Standing Committee on Public Safety gives her considerable influence over municipal policing policies and council relations with the police department.
Her legal counsel, Michael Wilcox, previously stated that the collision was simply an accident and firmly denied that alcohol played any role in the crash, noting that Toomey may have attended an election night gathering earlier that evening. Following the NAACP's formal request, Wilcox could not be reached immediately to discuss whether Toomey intends to remain in her committee leadership post during the ongoing review.
The NAACP's call for Toomey's temporary removal has been reinforced by community advocacy groups within the Civilian Review Board Coalition, who have also demanded her removal from the public safety leadership post. Both the coalition and Taylor pointed to broader concerns about systemic equity, drawing comparisons to a separate collision case involving UMass Chan Medical School campus police Lt. Gregory Markiewicz, who faces drunken driving charges.
As City Council chair, Mayor Petty possesses the authority to assign councilors to standing committees and determine leadership positions. Although the mayor was contacted for comment regarding the crash and potential committee adjustments, Petty has not yet stated publicly whether he plans to request Toomey's resignation from the chair.
Chief Saucier has noted that he cannot offer an assessment or evaluation of the responding officers' conduct until the internal affairs division finalizes its official inquiry into the Sept. 2 response. In the meantime, civil rights leaders and community organizers continue to press municipal officials for decisive action, insisting that upholding ethical standards within council leadership is vital to preserving community confidence in city governance.
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