The City of Fall River has agreed to pay $100,000 to settle an excessive force lawsuit against a former problem police officer, who has now cost the city over $400,000 in settlements to resolve various police brutality cases. The settlement resolves a federal lawsuit filed by David LaFrance, a Fall River resident who accused former […]
Fall River police
Posted inCriminal Justice, Local, South Coast Bureau
Conflict escalates at top of Fall River Police Department
When former police chief Paul Gauvin was clearing out his office this fall, he thought he was coming back in a few months as a captain. But because of the items he left behind, the former chief was fired instead. Along with office junk like paper clips and push pins, Gauvin left a knife and […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Local, South Coast Bureau
Tension over police reforms contributed to Fall River chief’s ousting
When Paul Gauvin was an internal affairs investigator with the Fall River Police Department, his efforts to discipline officers for things like steroid abuse and excessive force were sometimes thwarted by station politics and powerful protections in union contracts. So when Gauvin was promoted to chief in December 2021, he said he tried to overhaul […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Local, South Coast Bureau
Fall River mayor switches police chiefs under pressure from unions
As Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan weighed four internal candidates for police chief, he said Kelly Furtado emerged as a popular choice among the department’s rank and file. Furtado comes from a police family: her father, husband and son have all served as Fall River police officers. She had also worked alongside the mayor at […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Local, South Coast Bureau
Family offers $10,000 reward for tips about fatal police shooting in Fall River
The family of a man killed by Fall River police officers three years ago is offering a $10,000 reward for tips that advance their understanding of the investigation into his death. Their relative, Anthony Harden, was shot in his bedroom in November 2021 by a Fall River police officer shortly after Harden’s girlfriend reported him […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Local, South Coast Bureau
Officers present during Fall River police station beating can keep their jobs
Two Fall River police officers who were present for the beating of a suspect at the city’s police station in 2020 will keep their jobs, after an investigation released this week found insufficient evidence to prove whether they filed false reports in violation of department policy. An earlier FBI investigation into the beating already led […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Local, South Coast Bureau
Ex-Fall River cop sentenced to prison for covering up police station beating
A former Fall River police officer received a nearly three-year prison sentence on Wednesday for filing false reports to cover up the beating of a suspect in custody in 2020. Nicholas M. Hoar was convicted in February of one count of deprivation of rights under color of law and two counts of false reports in […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Local, South Coast Bureau
Jury finds Fall River cop guilty of covering up police station beating
Nicholas M. Hoar will return to Boston’s federal court in April to be sentenced.
Posted inCriminal Justice, South Coast Bureau
Police witness testifies about alleged cover-up at Fall River police station
A booking officer testified on Tuesday that Fall River Police Officer Nicholas Hoar struck a suspect on the head with a baton and filed a false report to avoid punishment.
Posted inCriminal Justice, South Coast Bureau
Fall River cop heads to trial on charges of covering up excessive force
Nicholas Hoar, a fifth-generation Fall River policeman with a lengthy internal affairs file, is accused of injuring a man’s head with a baton in 2020 and filing a false report to cover up the incident.
