Hub cop may resign after guilty plea in shooting

By Michele McPhee
Boston Herald Police Bureau Chief
Tuesday, April 24, 2007

A veteran Boston police officer is expected to resign from the force after pleading guilty yesterday to charges he shot a fellow cop during an off-duty argument about whether he was too drunk to drive, officials said.
Officer Paul Durkin, 50, entered the guilty plea yesterday, just days before his trial on assault and battery charges was expected to start. He also indicated in court that he would turn in his badge after 27 years of service to the Boston Police Department, entitling him to a city pension.
Prosecutors said that after a night of drinking June 22, Durkin pulled his service revolver out and shot Officer Joseph Behnke outside that cop’s West Roxbury home. Behnke was shot in the left hip, and was brought to the hospital by his wife, a nurse.
Durkin was indicted by a grand jury in September. Behnke is still out on paid administrative leave awaiting the results of an internal investigation, BPD spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said yesterday.
Judge Janet L. Sanders sentenced Durkin to three years’ probation and ordered him to undergo alcohol treatment, said Jake Wark,spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.
The sentence was applauded by BPD Commissioner Edward Davis last night. “Violence is unacceptable in our society and anyone who engages in violent behavior must be held accountable,” he said in a statement.
Durkin’s attorney, George Murphy, could not be reached last night.