Updated Oct. 28.
Massachusetts State Police suspended two troopers, Ryan Costello and Robert Branca, with pay, on Thursday, Oct. 22, for what officials said was their conduct in connection to an individual who was a guest at the State Police barracks on-Island and is now accused of rape in an incident that occurred there in August.
The suspensions stem from an internal affairs probe into the alleged rape of a woman by Edward Joseph Brown, 27, who prosecutors said was on-Island to visit Costello when the incident occured. Brown, who pleaded not guilty to a felony rape charge earlier this month, was investigated by Oak Bluffs Police and the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office after a reported sexual assault at the State Police barracks in Oak Bluffs.
Oak Bluffs Police responded to 911 calls at 12:57 am on August 15 about a distressed, naked woman on the side of the road near the barracks. She was taken to Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, where a nurse examiner administered a sexual assault kit.
Brown, an assistant security administrator at Boston Latin Academy who’s since been placed on administrative leave, was arraigned for the incident on Oct. 13 in Edgartown District Court. He was released after he posted $10,000 bail, and was ordered to stay away and have no contact with the alleged victim or any potential witnesses. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Dec. 11.
At the arraignment, Assistant District Attorney Courtney Scalice said Costello, who was assigned to the Martha’s Vineyard barracks for the summer, confirmed he knew Brown from college and said Brown visited the weekend of August 15 and stayed at the barracks. Costello, who spoke to Oak Bluffs Police officers on August 29, said that they went to the Ritz the night of August 14, but there was a period of time when he didn’t know where Brown was. Around Sept. 11, Costello’s attorney provided the commonwealth with screenshots of text messages between Costello and Brown from that weekend. Via text, Brown had told Costello that he was with a woman and said he went to Costello’s roommate’s room for condoms.
Costello was interviewed on Sept. 25 by the Cape and Island’s District Attorney’s Office, with his attorney, a Massachusetts State Police Union representative, and other members of law enforcement in the room. Scalice revealed in the October arraignment that Costello said he left the Ritz before Brown and returned to the barracks between 1:30 and 2 am; an Uber ride on Brown’s account, found by search warrant, started on Circuit Avenue and ended at the barracks at 12:27 am. Costello said he found Brown alone but unusually quiet when he arrived, and said that between text messages and in-person conversations, Brown provided differing accounts of what happened.
Despite a search warrant at the State Police barracks for the alleged victim’s clothing and cell phone, as of Oct. 13 neither had been located, Scalice said at the court session.
The alleged incident took place in temporary units provided to a small number of troopers on seasonal assignments on-Island. The units are located in a separate structure from the State Police barracks on Temahigan Avenue and are currently vacant, according to a statement from State Police Media Relations Director Greg Turner.
Branca wasn’t mentioned at the arraignment but, according to his LinkedIn profile, has been a trooper since 2004.
Costello received the George L. Hanna medal for valor, one of the highest honors for a Massachusetts police officer, in 2024 in an awards ceremony presented by Gov. Maura Healey at the State House. Healey was recently asked about the alleged incident in the final gubernatorial debate ahead of the Nov. 3 election. “Col. [Geoffrey] Noble has come in and with his management team done a wonderful thing in my view,” Healey said. “Do things happen? Sometimes things happen, but I can tell you, he and I make sure that swift action is taken.”
After Oak Bluffs Police initially announced their investigation in September, The Times asked State Police whether or not there was a guest policy at the temporary units provided to troopers on seasonal assignments on-Island, where the alleged incident took place, and never received an answer. It wasn’t until last week that the agency provided a statement.
State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble prohibited overnight guests at the temporary housing units after the incident. He also ordered a policy that requires prior written approval from the barracks commander for visitors to enter non-public areas of the property, and requires visitors to remain accompanied at all times.
“These allegations are deeply troubling,” Noble said in a statement shared with The Times on Friday. “The Massachusetts State Police are fully cooperating with the ongoing criminal investigation and conducting an internal review of applicable policies, visitor authorization procedures, and compliance with established requirements. I am committed to maintaining the highest standards of safety, security, and accountability at all State Police facilities and ensuring that any identified deficiencies are addressed with appropriate corrective action.”
Editor’s note: This is the print version of the story and includes more details of the case from the arraignment as well as that Costello received the George L. Hanna medal for valor in 2024.
