Another Fall River police officer is fired. This is the third cop firing since January.
FALL RIVER — Another Fall River police officer has been fired, making it the third termination since January. This time, the firing was in connection with a pending criminal domestic abuse case.
Former patrol officer Bryan Custadio was on paid leave since last November after his second of two arrests on domestic assault charges. He was recently terminated after an internal investigation and an officer hearing.
“I can confirm he was terminated as of July 26,” said Fall River Police Department spokesman Sgt. Moses Pereira. “And as for the hearing, the [hearing] officer weighed all the evidence that was brought forward and the termination was executed.”
Custadio was first charged after an incident in October. He was arraigned again in February on allegations of strangulation, assault with a dangerous weapon while on duty and later destroying evidence. The Herald News does not identify alleged victims of domestic violence.
He has been free on personal recognizance and is set to return to court on Monday for a pre-trial conference.
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Alleged assault happened while on duty
In the November incident, Custadio was in uniform and on duty when he reportedly went to the residence of the alleged victim in his marked patrol car.
A police report indicates he attacked the person outside the home then forced the person back into the house, pushing the alleged victim to the ground, pulling the alleged victim by the hair in an attempt to take away a cell phone.
The attack was reportedly caught on a home surveillance camera, but after an investigation where a warrant for the device was served, Custadio was accused of wiping the data clean remotely with his cell phone.
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Most recent police suspension for alleged domestic abuse
Fall River police lieutenant and former Somerset School Committee chairman Andrew Crook was arraigned three weeks ago in Fall River District Court on charges of drunken driving and domestic abuse in separate instances.
His arrest by Somerset police on daytime OUI charges marked the third time the veteran officer had been arrested within six weeks. The first two arrests were related to domestic abuse charges.
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After a dangerousness hearing, Crook was released on the stipulation that he enter into a 30-day substance abuse treatment facility.
Crook was also ordered to home confinement with a family member and to wear a GPS tracking device when he completes the rehabilitation.
He was placed on paid administrative leave after his second domestic-related arrest.
Crook is due back in court on Aug. 23 for a pretrial conference.
Two officers fired last January
Michael Pessoa, a 19-year veteran Fall River patrol officer who is awaiting trial for assaulting and violating the civil rights of three men while on duty, was fired on Jan. 12.
Police Chief Paul Gauvin, who at the time was interim head of the police department, cited a hearing officer's finding that determined Pessoa “had engaged in egregious violations” of the department’s rules and regulations and that his termination was warranted.
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Pessoa’s trial is set for Oct. 3.
In addition to the criminal case against Pessoa, the city has so far paid out more than $300,000 in civil lawsuits for excessive force where Pessoa is named as a defendant.
Two more civil cases are pending that name Pessoa as one of the defendants.
Shortly after Pessoa was terminated, the police department, under Gauvin, fired patrol officer Thomas Roberts for lying on arrest reports connected to the allegations against Pessoa.
In 2019, Roberts and Shaun Aguiar testified before a grand jury that they filed false police reports after the district attorney's office offered immunity in exchange for testimony.
The pair attempted to stop the DA’s office from reporting their grand jury testimony to the chief of police, Albert Dupere.
The Herald News reported the deal and the SJC rejected the two officers' claim.
Aguiar eventually resigned, but Roberts fought the termination, losing an attempt at a court injunction to stop the firing.
Officer entering 20th month of paid leave
Patrol Officer Nicholas Hoar has been on paid administrative leave since December 2020 after allegations he assaulted a man in custody at the police station while he was on desk duty.
Sources, including the alleged victim, William Harvey, claim that there is an FBI investigation into the alleged assault.
Harvey recently received a $65,000 settlement from the city for the incident.
Hoar is the police officer who shot and killed 19-year-old Larry Ruiz-Barreto in 2017 in the Fall River Industrial Park after firing his service revolver six times in the New Bedford man’s windshield. After an investigation, Bristol County District Attorney Tom Quinn declared the shooting justified.
The family of Ruiz-Barreto currently is suing Hoar, the city and a number of other police officers for wrongful death and violating Ruiz-Barreto's civil rights.
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 is terminated, making it the third this year
