Mass. State Police Sgt. Sean Murphy Relieved of Duty After Release Of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Photographs

Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Sean Murphy has been relieved of duty, just a few hours after he gave Boston magazine hundreds of photographs that he took from behind the scenes of the manhunt for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Though he’s been relieved of duty, Murphy has not been fired. The status of his duty is to be reviewed next week.

According to Boston Magazine, Two lieutenants in an unmarked cruiser and a sergeant in a marked cruiser arrived at Murphy’s home and took his gun, badge, ammunition, handcuffs, baton, bulletproof vest, cameras, police ID, license to fire arms, pepper spray, cellphone and computer.

Murphy was also ordered not to speak to the press or discuss the capture of Tsarnaev with anyone else.

Sgt. Murphy said this about the Rolling Stone magazine cover,

As a professional law-enforcement officer of 25 years, I believe that the image that was portrayed by Rolling Stone magazine was an insult to any person who has every worn a uniform of any color or any police organization or military branch, and the family members who have ever lost a loved one serving in the line of duty.