WEST SPRINGFIELD — A newly appointed sergeant in the West Springfield Police Department faced a 2023 demotion and suspension and earlier discipline while working in Northampton.

But West Springfield Police Chief Jay Gearing defends his decision to promote Andrew Carney, saying he was well qualified.

“Andrew Carney has been nothing but stellar leading up to the policy violation,” Gearing said.

This past spring, The Republican published a story about Carney’s demotion and suspension after he was found with sports trading cards taken from an arrest.

The suspension was in 2023, but it came to light in March through the criminal cases of men whose home was raided and where the cards were stored in a safe. The Hampden District Attorney’s office notified a defense attorney in that case.

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