Legislator wins rank back on Newton Police force

A state lawmaker demoted from his job as lieutenant on the Newton Police force has been reinstated. State Representative Paul Bell, a democrat from Newton, was demoted after cops he was supervising used a department computer to access Internet porn. Bell appealed his demotion, and won his old title back. Bell will be suspended without pay for 45 days. Bell apologized for the incident, saying “there are no winners in these matters.”Newton’s police chief said he’s lost confidence in Bell for lots of reasons. Bell’s been cited for doing legislative work and watching t-v while on duty, leaving work early and giving rides to family members in his police car. Bell has been on the Newton police force for 27 years and the city’s Civil Service Commission said demoting him was an “arbitrary action” because no other formal disciplinary action had ever been taken against him.