Former Springfield police officer charged with harassing ex-partner, secretly filming sexual acts

Prosecutors charged a 56-year-old former Springfield police officer for allegedly placing a tracking device on his ex-partner’s vehicle and secretly recording her during sexual acts, court records show. 

Steven Vigneault, of East Longmeadow, pleaded not guilty to one charge of criminal harassment and one charge of photographing an unsuspecting nude person during his arraignment in Springfield District Court on Tuesday.

Vigneault was a member of the Springfield Police Department from 2013 to 2016 and served in the military, court records show.

Vigneault was previously embroiled in a controversy that included a whistleblower lawsuit against the city and a federal criminal indictment for excessive force. Springfield settled the lawsuit in 2022, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office dropped the charges in 2020.

A judge released Vigneault on personal recognizance Tuesday under the condition that he not contact the alleged victim, court records show. 

Vigneault’s attorney did not respond to requests for comment.

“[The victim] expressed feelings of fear related to this incident to the point where at times she stated that she felt uncomfortable going to work … [which] leads me to believe that this is causing her substantial emotional distress,” police wrote in a report filed in court.

The latest case against former Springfield officer

Vigneault first met the alleged victim four years ago at a casino where she works as a cocktail server. The two began a dating relationship eight months ago, according to the police report. 

Approximately 5-10 times throughout the summer, Vigneault allegedly showed up to where she was, despite her not sharing her location with him, the report says. 

The woman discovered a tracking device in a magnetic key holder box underneath her vehicle in August, the report says. Vigneault allegedly admitted to placing the tracker under her vehicle, she told police. 

The woman also told police that Vigneault recorded videos and took photos of her during sexual acts without her consent, the report says. She did not know the photos and videos existed until he showed them to her days or weeks later.

In another incident detailed in the police report, Vigneault and the woman attended his son’s soccer game, where he allegedly consumed an entire fifth of tequila in an hour. While in the car, he became violent and punched the window until he broke his finger, the report says.

The incident, which the woman believed to be PTSD-related, ended when Vigneault allegedly passed out and threw up on himself, the report says. The woman drove him and his son home when Vigneault’s wife asked her to leave.

The woman broke up with Vigneault following the incident, the report says.

The charges arose after Vigneault contacted the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to report the woman and two other cocktail servers for allegedly drinking and using drugs at work, the report says. 

Vigneault told an MGM employee that he had been “tracking their schedules and movements on the casino floor,” according to the report. State Police then talked to the three servers, and Vigneault’s ex-partner told police about the alleged harassment and nonconsensual photos, the report says.

A controversial resignation and federal indictment

Vigneault was previously at the center of an excessive use of force case brought by federal prosecutors. The 2016 incident led Vigneault to resign and file a lawsuit against the city, and he eventually became an FBI informant in the Department of Justice’s investigation into the police department.

The case began after Vigneault allegedly drove to pick up a pizza in an unmarked police car in February 2016. He left the vehicle unattended and two children allegedly stole the vehicle, according to court records. 

When police eventually pursued the suspects, investigators alleged that another officer spat on one of the children and said, “Welcome to the white man’s world.” The children were both Latino, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The officer allegedly said he could crush the child’s skull and get away with it, and he could plant cocaine on him to get him put away for 15 years, the release said.

The indictment alleged Vigneault kicked one of the children in the face. However, the charges against Vigneault were eventually dismissed after the child said he was “100 [percent] positive” that the other officer kicked him, court records show.

A federal jury acquitted the other officer of all charges in 2021. 

However, the victims of the alleged excessive use of force sued the City of Springfield. The city eventually paid more than $550,000 in total settlements to the two victims, MassLive reported. 

Vigneault filed a lawsuit against the City of Springfield in 2017, alleging that the city violated the commonwealth’s whistleblower statute. He said he reported the other officer for constant intoxication at work and breaking into the home of Vigneault’s partner — another officer — and threatening to kill them, court records show.

Vigneault said he felt pressured into resigning, which he did in 2016, court records show.

The city and Vigneault settled the lawsuit for $350,000, as reported by MassLive. 

Vigneault also served as an FBI informant in the Department of Justice’s investigation into the Springfield Police Department’s Narcotics Bureau, court records show. The investigation found the bureau to “engage in a pattern or practice of excessive force.”

The Department of Justice filed a proposed consent decree in 2022 that required the city to improve policies and training regarding the use of force. A judge dismissed the consent decree in May, according to a news release from the city.