EAST FALMOUTH – Director Christopher Donelan and Academy Coordinator Edward Dunne of the police academy in East Falmouth have been suspended and all instructors temporarily removed after allegations of misconduct. The developments came to light in a a latter sent out to Cape Cod police departments asking them to check with their recruits for more information. The letter follows here in its entirety:
March 3, 2025
Re: Municipal Police Training Committee East Falmouth Academy Investigation
Dear Chiefs,
We are writing to follow up on the outreach you received last week from the Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC) on February 27, 2025, regarding concerns raised by agencies with student officers attending the East Falmouth Academy Recruit Office Course (ROC-01).
The MPTC was first made aware of concerns regarding inappropriate conduct by academy staff on February 26 and took immediate action. The MPTC is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, accountability and professionalism for our staff and student officers. Our mission is to provide a training environment that fosters respect, fairness and excellence in law enforcement, and we will continue to take all necessary steps to ensure our academies reflect these values.
We take any allegations of misconduct seriously and are fully committed to conducting a thorough and impartial investigation. Any form of hazing, harassment or misconduct is unequivocally unacceptable and goes against our core values of integrity, respect and professionalism.
The investigation into this matter remains ongoing. To date, the MPTC has taken the following corrective actions:
1. On February 26, 2025, the MPTC promptly began an investigation to identify specific information related to alleged incidents of misconduct by academy staff and instructors.
2. We have started collecting and reviewing the necessary documentation for our investigation.
3. Executive Director Rathbun addressed the recruit class on February 27 and further requested that you or an agency representative speak to the student officers from your agencies to determine if they could provide any information germane to our investigation.
4. On February 27, the MPTC temporarily removed all staff instructors from their positions at the academy, replacing staff instructors with personnel from another MPTC academy to minimize any disruption to the student officers’ schedule.
5. We are conducting a thorough review of procedures and practices to ensure that all activities have a direct nexus to a specific learning objective. 6.
With the support of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, we have suspended the academy director and academy coordinator pending further investigation.
We appreciate your support and understanding as we navigate this challenging situation. The safety, well-being and ethical development of our recruits is our top priority. We are reinforcing our policies, training and oversight to ensure that the highest standards of professional and accountability are upheld.
We encourage anyone with information regarding these allegations to come forward and report their concerns. We remain steadfast in fostering a culture of respect and professionalism within our academies and the broader law enforcement community. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact us directly.
Respectfully,
(signed)
Rick Rathbun (Ret. Colonel)
MPTC Executive Director
Amy Fanikos (Ret. Captain)
MPTC Deputy Executive Director
