A former MBTA Transit Police sergeant on Monday was sentenced to probation and community service for helping a fellow officer falsify a report and cover up an unprovoked beating of a homeless man, federal prosecutors said.

David S. Finnerty, 49, of Rutland, went to trial in May in federal court in Boston. After an eight-day trial, a jury convicted him of one count of aiding and abetting the filing of a false police report. Finnerty was acquitted of a second count of filing a false report.

The case had been closely watched in political and law enforcement circles because the federal charges were brought against Finnerty in August 2023 after Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden dropped similar charges 10 months earlier.

At trial, prosecutors said Finnerty was the duty shift superviso

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