A veteran Boston Police officer is off the street and fighting for his career after prosecutors charged him with assaulting two people and damaging property, and the state’s police certification board moved to sideline him. Officer Mark Loewen, a more-than-25-year member of the department, was arraigned Friday in West Roxbury Municipal Court and released with conditions that include staying away from the alleged victims. The action effectively benches him from street duty while both criminal and internal reviews play out.
According to the Boston Herald, Loewen faces two counts of assault and battery and one count of vandalism and entered a not guilty plea at his initial court appearance. The Herald reports that the Boston Police Department has put him on paid administrative duty and is withholding the incident report under a statutory exemption that applies to alleged domestic-violence records. His attorney told the paper that Loewen denies the accusations and intends to challenge the charges in court.
State board suspends certification
As detailed by the Massachusetts POST Commission, the agency is authorized to suspend an officer’s certification after a preliminary inquiry or when evidence points to potential criminal conduct, and it has issued several such suspension orders this summer. Those orders typically require officers to immediately turn in their firearms, cruisers, uniforms, blue lights, tasers and other department-issued gear while the matter remains under review.
Loewen's record and department role
Loewen appears in Boston Police rosters and district journals as a long-serving officer, including listings in the department’s public district journals, according to Boston Police Department records. Reporting by the Boston Herald notes that POST disciplinary files list prior internal actions involving Loewen, including a 2001 suspension related to firearm storage that was held in abeyance and a sustained 2018 allegation for conduct unbecoming. The Herald also reports that Loewen previously drew headlines in 2001 in connection with an on-duty shooting, and that his attorney maintains he denies the new allegations.
What’s next
The criminal case remains active in Boston Municipal Court, where prosecutors will determine whether to seek any additional filings, and Loewen is scheduled to return for follow-up proceedings. If prosecutors or the POST Commission make further findings, the board could escalate from suspension to full decertification, a step described in state POST reports that would prevent him from serving as a certified officer anywhere in Massachusetts.
Legal map
Under Massachusetts public-records law, police departments may withhold certain documents tied to alleged domestic violence using exemptions intended to protect victim privacy while investigations are ongoing. Open-government guidance and state case law describe how agencies are expected to weigh those privacy protections against the public’s interest in access to records.
