Update January 2026
The fight for Sergeant Dave Finnerty’s innocence and vindication of his good name is far from over! Within hours of the filing of the official sentencing, Dave Finnerty’s legal team filed their notice of appeal, and on December 22, 2025 in the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals the appellate brief was filed. Defense counsel has addressed several appellate issues of the case including jurisdiction, judicial error by allowing evidence into the trial with no relevance and prejudicial to Sergeant Finnerty, judicial error in denying relevant exculpatory evidence, as well as the prosecution’s prejudicial use of irrelevant evidence to elicit sympathy for the victim of the excessive force, of which Sergeant Finnerty had no involvement. A week after this filing, federal prosecutors responded. Not with a standard reply brief but with a motion to change the court record, requesting all draft jury instructions be included into the official record in a desperate attempt to rewrite history.
This ordeal started in September 2018 for the Finnerty family. Their lives have been devastated, both emotionally and financially, but they are incredibly grateful for the help and support they’ve received so far, especially from the Pipe Hitter Foundation. For years this family walked alone through this nightmare. The Pipe Hitter Foundation community showed the Finnerty family that NO ONE WALKS ALONE! The fight continues and we must push back against lies and corruption for the Finnertys. Sergeant Finnerty is an innocent man. He is a husband, father, and former police sergeant who needs to be vindicated once and for all.
Update September 2025
Sentencing is Over
2 Years Probation, $600 Fine, 150 Hours Community Service
This husband and father’s long fight is finally coming to an end. David gets to be home with his wife and daughters, where he belongs. We are beyond grateful for the love, prayers, and support you’ve shown the Finnerty family through this battle. Because of you, they were never alone.
A special thank you to Martha for attending and offering her support in person. It means so much to this family and to our community.
While challenges remain to clear his name, today we celebrate that David is with his family and able to begin the next chapter together.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for standing with David and with us
At 6:00 a.m. on August 31, 2023, FBI agents raided the home of Sergeant David Finnerty, shattering his family’s peace and what was left of their American Dream.
His youngest daughter, Charlotte, was supposed to start kindergarten that day.
Instead, she watched as the FBI took her dad away in handcuffs.
David will be sentenced in federal court on September 22nd.
The state of Massachusetts exonerated him of the charges nearly three years ago, but a politically motivated U.S. attorney kept targeting him.
We have less than 30 days to raise $50,000 for David’s appeal bond should the judge grant it at sentencing.
David is a Coast Guard veteran, honorably discharged after being injured in service. He was decorated for his bravery and skill.
After the Coast Guard, David joined the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority in 2002 and married his wife, Jennifer, a public-school teacher, in 2013.
They have three daughters – Emma, Schuyler, and Charlotte
On the night of July 26–27, 2018, David was on an overnight shift at MBTA Transit Police headquarters.
He was MILES away from a train station where a patrolman used excessive force on a homeless man.
The patrolman asked David to review his arrest and use-of-force report.
David noticed several discrepancies. He notified his ranking superior officer of the incident and suggested further investigation.
Instead, David became the target of the investigation he recommended.
A politically-motivated district attorney accused David of falsifying a police report and being an accessory after the fact to the other officer’s unjustified use of force.
After his indictment, the MBTA suspended David without pay.
They did EVERYTHING they could to prevent him from receiving unemployment compensation.
David spent nearly four years preparing for his trial without a paycheck.
You can imagine the toll that takes on a family and their finances.
That’s why Pipe Hitter Foundation is working to raise $50,000 in the next 30 days to help the Finnerty family with David’s appeal bond. Any amount you can chip in would be truly appreciated.
The night before his trial in October 2022, David was exonerated of all charges, and the state terminated his case.
David had told the truth, done his job, and demanded accountability.
But his punishment wasn’t over.
The MBTA refused to rehire him and withheld his backpay. They’re still fighting to withhold it.
Worse, the corrupt DA that targeted David became the U.S. Attorney from Massachusetts and resumed her witch hunt against him.
She pursued a federal grand jury for the same charges that were terminated at the state level without a conviction for a guilty plea.
That’s what led to the FBI raiding David’s house.
Since then, he’s has been dragged through the criminal justice system.
David’s family is traumatized – his daughters are terrified when cars roll by the house.
He couldn’t even take his oldest, Emma, to college because of restrictions.
When David was first falsely accused, Charlotte was eight months old, and Schuyler was three.
Today, they’re seven and ten.
Their entire lives have been lived under this weight.
You can help get the entire Finnerty family out from under it with your support today.