Fall River police K-9 officer suspended, facing domestic battery, intimidation charges
FALL RIVER — A Fall River Police Department K-9 officer was placed on leave after he was arrested last week on several domestic-related charges and improper storage of his city-issued firearms.
Marc Correia, 32, was arraigned in Fall River District Court on Friday after his arrest by Fall River police. He is charged with felony witness intimidation; felony improper storage of a large-capacity firearm near a minor; and misdemeanor assault and battery on a family member.
Correia was released on personal recognizance by Fall River District Court Judge Kevin J. Finnerty.
Fall River Police Chief Paul Gauvin confirmed Friday that Correia was on administrative leave from the department with pay.
A Fall River Police Department Facebook post indicates that Correia and his police dog, Satu, trained with the Bristol County Sheriff’s Department in June 2021.
FRPD spokesman Detective Sgt. Moses Pereira indicated in an email that “arrangements have been made to kennel Officer Correia’s K-9 partner.”
The police report indicates that Correia is a Marines veteran who served two tours of duty in a combat zone in Afghanistan before he was hired as a Fall River police officer.
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Family member filed complaint with Fall River police
The Herald News does not release the names of alleged domestic abuse victims or minors. A reporter acquired a redacted police report on the investigation that led to Correia’s arrest.
The police report indicates that a family member of the alleged victim arrived at police headquarters at 10 p.m. on Thursday to file a complaint that the alleged victim had fled the Correia family home after the off-duty officer took the keys to the family vehicles.
The family member reported that the alleged victim was concerned about the family’s safety because Correia had left in the alleged victim’s vehicle for an event that involved alcohol and would be under the influence when he returned.
The alleged victim reportedly left the home with minor children and pet dog for the relative’s home before Correia returned.
The relative making the complaint indicated that the alleged victim accused Correia of physical abuse in the past, but did not report those incidents to police for one reason: not wishing to get the officer in trouble with his job.
Allegations of improperly stored firearms, including his police weapon
According to the police report, the complaining family member indicated that they were prompted to approach police after they viewed a photograph taken by the alleged victim “showing Marc’s duty belt hanging in [his] bedroom closet, with his firearm, ammunition, and Taser easily accessible.”
According to a police interview with the alleged victim, the photo was taken after minor children found the duty belt “while looking for something else.”
Police charged Correia with witness intimidation after he allegedly called another family member, directing that person to call “and tell [the relative] to get out of the police station and withdraw [the] complaint,” according to the police report.
Timeline of troubles: Misconduct and inappropriate use of force by Fall River police officers
Police later located Correia at his home and took him into custody. He declined to make a statement to the investigating officers.
Before being taken into custody, Correia provided officers with a key to his gun safe, where they took into custody his service weapons and personal weapons.
Correia is scheduled to return to court on Sept. 12.
Abuse and excessive force in the FRPD
The FRPD has faced a number of officers embroiled in criminal accusations in recent years, some that have led to convictions:
Former Fall River police officer Nicholas Hoar is currently serving a 33-month sentence for assaulting a man in custody in December 2020 and lying on police reports about the incident. Hoar is also one of the principal figures in a $34 million lawsuit brought by the family of a man he shot and killed on duty seven years ago, soon after he joined the FRPD. Hoar fatally shot 19-year-old Larry Ruiz-Barreto of New Bedford at the Fall River Industrial Park in 2017 after he was allegedly called to break up a drag race.
Former patrol officer Michael Pessoa, a 20-year veteran of the Fall River Police Department, is currently incarcerated at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution Norfolk. He is serving concurrent sentences in three cases of excessive force on three separate people going back to 2014. He was convicted in Bristol County Superior Court last May for assaulting David Lafrance while he was in handcuffs then lying about it in police reports, an attack caught on surveillance camera. He later pleaded guilty to two more assaults on men who were in custody and lying about it on police reports.
Former Fall River police officer Bryan Custadio, facing three criminal domestic violence cases involving two separate domestic partners, pleaded guilty to the charges. In one case, Custadio was accused of assaulting a family member at their home while the former city patrol officer was on duty, in uniform and driving a marked police car, in November 2021. One of Custadio's victims, ex-wife Brenna Custadio, filed a lawsuit last November against the city, alleging that his former police colleagues tried to cover up the incidents of domestic assault against her. The case is pending.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Fall River police K-9 officer arrested; facing domestic battery charge
