Porter’s Alleged Victim stopped for OUI, Fled on Foot, but Avoided Arrest

Early in 2023, attorneys for the Town of Hopkinton retained Kroll, Inc. to perform an investigation of Hopkinton Police Sergeant Tim Brennan, who was placed on suspension for alleged policy violations. According to its website, Kroll provides “worldwide expert services and tech-enabled advisory through all states of diligence, forensic investigation, litigation, disputes and testimony.”

The investigation was precipitated by grand jury testimony provided by Brennan in the Jay Porter case. Porter is the former Hopkinton Deputy Chief of Police facing rape charges in connection with his time as the Hopkinton School Resource Officer.

>> RELATED: Alleged Victim says She Had 7-year Affair with Former Deputy Chief Porter

Through their investigation, Kroll learned of another member of the Hopkinton Police Department who may have had prior knowledge of Porter’s actions. Sergeant William Burchard was brought before the grand jury to answer questions regarding a motor vehicle stop in 2007 of a woman who was later identified as Porter’s alleged victim.  

Burchard reported that in 2007, he stopped a young female for a possible OUI based on “odor, blood-shot, and glassy eyes.” While administering a field sobriety test, the young woman ran off on foot. The stop was on Main Street in front of the Michael Lisnow Respite Center. It was late at night and the building was locked. The woman ran up onto the back deck and banged on the door. Burchard reported that she was crying and visibly upset. The officer caught up with her and placed her in handcuffs for “refusal to submit to a police officer”. Burchard said he intended to arrest her, or keep her from taking off again until he could complete his investigation.

Burchard was an overnight patrolman at the time. He called the incident into dispatch as he gave pursuit. Shortly after, Porter, who outranked Burchard, showed up on the scene. Burchard recalled Porter telling him that he knew the young woman and was familiar with various issues in her background.

According to statements made by Sergeant Brennan to Kroll investigators, the alleged victim told him that in 2007 she and Porter had begun a consensual sexual relationship. It’s unknown if this incident occurred before or after.

Daniel Linskey interviewed Sergeant Burchard on behalf of Kroll.

Mr. Linskey: Was she calling him by name? Was she asking him for help? Did she — did you get an impression that he knew her well?

Mr. Burchard: I got the impression that she knew him. How well, I didn’t know. I knew — I knew he told me he was a school resource officer at the time she was in school.

Mr. Linskey: Okay, so prior he was the school — because he wasn’t when he’s a sergeant.

Mr. Burchard: Correct. So prior.

Mr. Linskey: He told you when his role was school resource officer he had encountered her and this was information he was sharing with you about her background? 

Mr. Burchard: Correct.

Mr. Linskey: Including molestation when she was a child? 

Following the discussion at the scene with Porter, Burchard said he “felt empathetic” toward the woman and ended up “placing her in protective custody”. Protective custody is a type of care to protect a person from harm. Burchard said she was an adult but under the legal drinking age. Two friends came to pick her up but he did not send her to the hospital to detox. 

Burchard noted that Hopkinton PD is “usually pretty hard on OUIs”, saying he has released suspected OUIs only two or three times in his career out of approximately 60-100 OUIs. But he insisted he didn’t recall feeling pressured by Porter to release her.

Mr. Linskey: You didn’t feel pressure from the sergeant to make that move? He didn’t say, hey, do me a favor, cut her slack?

Mr. Burchard: I don’t — I don’t remember him phrasing it like that, no. He was just kind of filling me in on her background.

Mr. Linskey: And she never said to you anything specific about Porter when she — when you were —

Mr. Burchard: Not that I recall, no. Again, I mean this was 2007.

Burchard stated that no one knew why Porter was placed on administrative leave in 2022, but that when he was called before the grand jury he “kind-of guessed” that the allegations involved Porter and the woman because one of the grand jurors asked him to clarify “What the trouble was that she had in her background?”, to which Burchard answered that he knew she had been molested.

Kroll investigators concluded that Burchard was within his discretion to place the alleged victim into protective custody that evening and did not provide her with preferential treatment due to her relationship with Porter. They surmised that Burchard was not aware of or given any indication that Porter had a relationship with the victim.

While Burchard stated that he was not influenced by Porter, the Kroll report raises the question of whether Porter intervened to prevent an OUI arrest and charge because of his personal relationship with the alleged victim.