Fall River police chief fires patrol officer who admitted to filing false reports

Jo C. Goode, The Herald News
·2 min read

FALL RIVER — A Fall River police officer has been fired from his job, one of two officers who testified to a grand jury they filed false police reports to protect fellow officer Michael Pessoa, who was indicted for excessive force.

Thomas Roberts has been fighting his termination from the department since 2019 after it came to light in Herald News reports that he and another officer, Shawn Aguiar, received immunity from prosecution in exchange for their testimony against Pessoa.

Last March, Superior Court Judge Thomas McGuire denied Roberts' request for a preliminary injunction to halt the department's disciplinary proceeding against him.

The judge also did not allow Roberts to identify himself in the lawsuit as plaintiff “John Doe,” filed a month earlier.

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The Fall River Police Department takes applications for gun licenses on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The Fall River Police Department takes applications for gun licenses on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Attorneys for Roberts and Aguiar also attempted to fight a Superior Court judge’s ruling that the Fall River chief of police could be privy to the two officers' secret grand jury testimony, as well as that Bristol County District Attorney Tom Quinn’s office must release any exculpatory evidence to defense attorneys handling cases associated with the two officers.

The Supreme Judicial Court denied the officers’ appeal.

A third former police officer, Andre DeMelo, also accused of filing false police reports, resigned from the police force on the day of Pessoa’s indictment in June 2019. DeMelo did not testify in the grand jury.

Aguiar has since resigned from the Fall River Police Department.

A lawsuit alleging excessive force against a Fall River woman was filed Friday in U.S. District Court against Fall River Police Officer Michael Pessoa and fellow city officers David Medeiros and Joseph Teixeira. The city is also named as a defendant.
A lawsuit alleging excessive force against a Fall River woman was filed Friday in U.S. District Court against Fall River Police Officer Michael Pessoa and fellow city officers David Medeiros and Joseph Teixeira. The city is also named as a defendant.

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Acting Police Chief Paul Gauvin said his decision was based on findings of a hearing officer to determine whether Roberts' actions constituted serious misconduct that violated police department regulations.

“The hearing officer found substantial evidence that Mr. Roberts engaged in egregious violations of Police Department Rules and Regulations related to untruthfulness and conduct unbecoming, and that termination is warranted in this matter,” Gauvin indicated in a news release.

Two weeks ago, Gauvin fired Pessoa from the police force after a similar in-house hearing, 18 months after he was indicted and arraigned on 15 counts of assaulting four men while on duty and violating their civil rights.

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Last month, McGuire tossed out four charges related to one of the alleged victims.

Fall River Police Chief Jeffrey Cardoza, currently out on medical leave and set to retire in March, was the detective heading the Major Crimes Division who investigated the Pessoa criminal case.

Pessoa is due back in Bristol County Superior Court regarding his pending criminal case on Feb. 1.

Jo C. Goode may be reached at jgoode@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism and subscribe to The Herald News today!

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Fall River police officer fired, filed false reports to protect Pessoa