One of the partners at the firm hired by the Massachusetts State Police to review its handling of a fatal 2023 cruiser crash used to work for the agency.

Kathleen O’Toole, a partner at 21st Century Policing Solutions, is a former lieutenant colonel who oversaw special operations for the MSP. She was also the first woman to be named Boston Police Commissioner and held the role of state Secretary of Public Safety under then-Gov. Bill Weld.

When asked for comment, MSP spokesperson Tim McGuirk pointed the Herald to a letter from State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble, which noted that the review would be completed by three investigators at the firm: Tim Mygatt, Matthew Barge, and Annette Sandberg.

“Not Commissioner O’Toole,” Tim McGuirk said.

“These individuals were selected for their combined experience, which spans DOJ civil rights work, court-appointed monitoring and compliance assessments, and executive leadership of large public safety agencies,” McGuirk added. “We look forward to their objective, evidence-informed evaluation.”

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Timeline of Mass State Police fatal cruiser crash scandal

Mass State Police hire firm to independently review fatal 2023 cruiser crash

The agency is undertaking the review after it came to light that a trooper involved in a cruiser crash in Woburn may have been drunk when he veered into oncoming traffic and hit a wheelchair van head on.

Sgt. Scott Quigley, the cruiser’s driver, allegedly had a blood alcohol level of .114 when he was tested at a hospital after the crash. The legal limit is .08.

The accusations surfaced in a wrongful death suit filed by the family of Angelo Schettino, the 37-year-old man who was in the van during the crash and died in the hospital a month later.

At the time, Quigley only received a marked lanes violation, according to police reports.

The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, where Quigley was embedded as a homicide investigator, said they were only made aware of the allegations against Quigley at the end of January, more than two years after the crash occurred.

The revelation not only spurred the independent review, it also paused the first degree murder trial of brothers Billy, Billoeum, and Channa Phan, which Middlesex is prosecuting and Quigley investigated.

Middlesex referred Quigley to the Suffolk DA, which is looking into possible criminal charges.

According to Noble, the independent review by 21 CP Solutions will not result in recommendations on charges and will instead be “focused on the handling of this incident and the internal policies and controls that should have ensured timely awareness and notification.”

The review will look at how the MSP currently handles serious on-duty incidents, including their notification process, supervisor response, and documentation policies.

“A serious incident resulting in the loss of life demands timely notification, rigorous oversight and complete accountability,” Noble wrote. “Any deviation from these expectations is unacceptable, falls short of public expectations and risks undermining confidence in the justice system.”

At the end of the review, the investigators will recommend changes to training, policy, and procedure.

According to dash cam and body camera footage obtained by The Herald, the trooper who investigated the crash, Sgt. Jennifer Penton, was told by a higher-up not to interview Quigley on the night of the accident.

When Penton expressed frustration to another officer that she wasn’t “IA” — usually short for internal affairs — and that they higher ranked officers were “looking out” for Quigley, the other officer said,

“Unless he’s s###-faced, I’m not worried.”

Penton is currently suspended without pay in connection to an unrelated incident. She’s been charged with manslaughter for her alleged involvement in the death of an academy trainee in 2024.

When asked for a comment on the video, a MSP spokesperson told the Herald that footage and conversation it captured would be a part of the review.

Noble noted that the agency is also conducting an internal affairs investigation into individuals involved in the handling of the crash.

State Police Sgt. Jennifer Penton (MSP Facebook photo)