Executive Summary
- Mass State Police hired 21CP Solutions to review the handling of a 2023 fatal cruiser crash.
- Sgt. Scott Quigley is alleged to have been intoxicated when he crashed into a wheelchair van.
- Middlesex DA was not notified of the fatality or alcohol allegations for over two years.
- The disclosure has paused an unrelated murder trial in Lowell where Quigley was a key investigator.
- Suffolk County DA is separately investigating potential criminal charges against the sergeant.
The Massachusetts State Police (MSP) have retained an external consulting firm to conduct an independent review regarding the agency’s administrative handling of a fatal December 2023 cruiser crash involving a sergeant who was allegedly intoxicated at the time.
According to State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble, the national firm 21CP Solutions has been tasked with examining the internal policies and controls that failed to ensure timely notification of the incident. The decision follows a revelation that the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office was not informed of the fatality or the officer’s alleged blood alcohol level until January 2026, more than two years after the collision.
The incident involves State Police Sgt. Scott Quigley, who is accused of operating his cruiser with a blood alcohol level above the legal limit when he struck a wheelchair van head-on. One of the van’s occupants, Angelo Schettino, sustained injuries in the crash and subsequently died. The details emerged during wrongful death litigation filed by Schettino’s family.
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan formally requested the independent inquiry in a letter dated February 4, citing the need for transparency. “In the interest of transparency and in order to promote public confidence — and to ensure justice for any potential victims — I am requesting that you immediately appoint an independent investigator to conduct a full and fair inquiry into why no notification was made to this office,” Ryan wrote.
The lack of notification has had immediate judicial consequences, effectively pausing the murder trial of brothers Billy, Channa, and Billoeum Phan in Lowell. Sgt. Quigley had served as a key investigator in that case while embedded with the District Attorney’s Office. Following the disclosure, Col. Noble confirmed that MSP has also launched internal affairs investigations into specific individuals and initiated refresher training on serious-injury protocols.
Parallel to the administrative review, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office is conducting a criminal investigation to determine if Sgt. Quigley will face charges related to the crash. It is important to note that all individuals named in investigations, including Sgt. Quigley, are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Administrative Oversight & Public Trust
This external review highlights a critical lapse in inter-agency communication within the state’s law enforcement apparatus. The delay in reporting a fatal incident involving an officer not only complicates the specific legal proceedings against the officer but also jeopardizes unconnected cases where the officer served as a witness. The focus of the 21CP Solutions inquiry will likely center on systemic procedural failures that allowed a significant on-duty incident to remain unreported to prosecutors for over two years, a gap that Col. Noble admitted “falls short of public expectations and risks undermining confidence in the justice system.”
