Charges sought against 2 in Mass. pool probe

FALL RIVER, Mass. -- The Bristol County District Attorney filed criminal complaints against two state employees after a woman drowned in a city pool and wasn’t found for days.

The District Attorney released surveillance video of Veteran's Memorial Pool in Fall River, showing just how murky the water was in the days leading up to the eath of 36-year-old Marie Joseph.

DA Samuel Sutter says Brian Shanahan, regional director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation, and Jeff Carter, the department's SouthCoast District Manager, will not be charged in connection with the June 26 death. Sutter says state police will seek criminal complaints against Shanahan and Carter for allowing the pool to remain open the following two days when the water was too cloudy for safe operation.

Joseph's body was discovered on June 28. Sutter ruled the death accidental, but cited a "systemic failure" in the pool's operation.

"A series of poor decisions with errors compounding errors, a disregard for regulatory requirements and a disregard for the proper standard for operating the pool pervaded multiple levels of DCR supervision and management. Pool staff and DCR managers and DCR supervisors led directly to the unsafe condition of the water at the time of Ms. Joseph’s drowning,” Sutter said.

Joseph went to the pool with neighbors on June 26. She slid down a slide into the deep end and didn't come up. She stayed in the water for two days until her body was finally discovered.

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