A state board has suspended certification for 2 Fall River police officers. Here's why.

FALL RIVER — The newly formed Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission has suspended the certification of 15 police officers across the state, and two of those officers are associated with the Fall River Police Department.

The POST Commission is part of a sweeping law enforcement reform effort in the commonwealth. The commission certifies police officers, and can decertify them or suspend their certification.

Fall River patrol officer Nicholas Hoar and former city police officer Bryan Custadio were listed by POST in its first round of certification suspensions.

Hoar was indicted by a federal grand jury and arrested for the alleged assault of a man in custody at Fall River police headquarters. He pleaded not guilty at an arraignment on Nov. 30 in federal court in Boston on one count of deprivation of rights under color of law resulting in bodily injury, and two counts of false reports.

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Hoar’s alleged victim, William Harvey, 57, filed a complaint with the FBI alleging he was hit by Hoar with a police baton, and had his head slammed into a door while he was handcuffed and being led out of a van outside the police station on Dec. 21, 2020, resulting in his being hospitalized.

Harvey agreed to a $65,000 civil settlement with the city last August.

Hoar was on paid leave for 1½ years after the assault allegations came to light, but was then placed on unpaid leave after the indictment.

According to FRPD public information officer Sgt. Moses Pereira, Hoar remains on unpaid leave status.

Hoar is also at the center of a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the city for the shooting death of a 19-year-old New Bedford man in the Fall River Industrial Park in 2017 during an illegal drag racing event. A report by the Bristol County District Attorney's Office cleared Hoar of wrongdoing in the incident, in which he shot the man six times through his windshield.

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Custadio was terminated from the police force last August and continues to face trial for allegedly assaulting a family member twice in late 2021. The second time he was arrested, Custadio had gone to the victim’s home in uniform and his police cruiser when the alleged assault occurred.

Fall River was the only community associated with the 15 officers suspended that had more than two current or former staff.

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How POST works

POST Executive Director Enrique Zuniga said the agency is making progress to meet its directives and add information to its database that is of "great public interest.”

“POST will suspend the certification of an officer who is arrested, charged or indicted of a felony and will revoke the certification of an officer who is convicted of a felony. The list of suspended officers will be updated periodically as these cases evolve and/or get resolved,” Zuniga said in a written statement.

By statute, POST is required to immediately suspend the certification of any police officer arrested, charged or indicted with a felony. POST also has the authority to initiate a preliminary inquiry into the conduct of an officer facing a misdemeanor.

Officers with suspended certifications have a right to request a hearing before the commission within 15 days.

The commission can also administratively suspend the certification of an officer who fails to complete in-service training requirements within 90 days of notice, provided the commission makes reasonable exemptions for injury or physical disability; a leave of absence; or other documented hardship. POST will reinstate the officer’s certification upon documented completion of in-service training, according to POST.

A suspension order is in effect until the commission makes a final decision or revocation.

The commission recently released the names of recertified officers with last names beginning with A to H and newly graduated officers with last names A to Z as it recertifies the state’s public safety officers.

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Status of other city officers unknown

A request for information on the status of three other Fall River officers accused of crimes, sent to POST spokesperson Cindy Campbell, resulted in this response: "The POST Commission cannot provide details beyond what is currently on our website at this time, nor can we comment on any individual case that may be pending."

Former veteran patrol officer Michael Pessoa is due for trial next month after his indictment in June 2019 in relation to assault and civil rights abuses on four men he’d held in custody. He was fired last January.

In October, the Bristol County District Attorney’s office dropped domestic charges against Andrew Crook, a Fall River police lieutenant and former Somerset School Committee chairman, after the alleged victim refused to cooperate with investigators.

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A District Court judge ruled on an OUI charge against the 18-year veteran police officer, ordering 18 months of a continuance without a finding in her disposition of the case and suspended his license for 45 days.

According to Fall River Police Chief Paul Gauvin, Crook is retiring from the department.

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 officers facing Mass. certification suspension