Mar 25, 2026 - News

Boston cop's shooting charge roils DA race, divides city councilors

Mike Deehan

Illustration of Boston City Hall with lines radiating from it. — Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios

The manslaughter charge filed against Boston Police Officer Nicholas O'Malley for the on-duty shooting death of a carjacking suspect has ignited two separate political firestorms.

One is directed at Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden for bringing charges, the other inside the Boston City Council chamber.

Why it matters: The case has revived longstanding tensions over police accountability in Boston while scrambling the Suffolk DA race.

State of play: Multiple figures are now weighing challenges to Hayden, according to the Herald, including former City Councilor Michael Flaherty, ex-DA and ex-U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins and former First Assistant DA Kevin Mullen.

Mullen called the decision to charge O'Malley without a grand jury review a "snap decision" driven by politics.

Meanwhile: City councilors Erin Murphy and Miniard Culpepper are taking very different stances on the O'Malley case..

They both agree that body camera footage should be released, but diverge on how to frame the incident that resulted in the death of Stephenson King.
Murphy wants the focus to be on the carjacking victim and O'Malley's family, while Culpepper brings up community trauma surrounding the police killing of a Black man.

What's next: The primary is this fall.

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Boston cop's shooting charge roils DA race, divides city councilors

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