FALL RIVER — The Fall River Police Department has hired an independent firm to investigate the December 2020 assault of a man in custody with a baton and lying on a police report, which led to the federal conviction of former patrolman Nicholas Hoar in February.
Agents from the FBI’s Boston office investigated Hoar after he assaulted then-55-year-old William Harvey on Dec. 21, 2020, after Harvey was arrested on a misdemeanor domestic assault charge.
Hoar was indicted in November 2022 by a federal grand jury on one count of deprivation of rights under color of law and two counts of filing false reports. He was convicted on all three charges and will be sentenced in U.S. District Court on April 24.
Internal affairs: A Fall River cop is guilty of brutality, and police are conducting their own investigation
State commission requires an internal investigation
Despite the FBI’s investigation, the Fall River Police Department is still required to conduct an internal probe, according to Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission regulations.
At trial, now retired FRPD Sgt. Jeffrey Maher testified at trial he witnessed Hoar striking Harvey in the head when he led him into a holding cell, then failed to report the incident in his police reports. About a week later, he reported the incident and the false report he’d written to the department’s Office of Professional Standards.
While they did not testify at trial, Fall River patrol officers Brendan McNerney and Zachary Vorce were subjects of testimony at Hoar’s trial. The two officers had also failed to report the assault in their police reports and will be part of the POST investigation.
Neither McNerney nor Vorce were implicated by the FBI for any wrongdoing in the Hoar case.
According to Harvey, he was contacted by the FRPD recently with a request to participate in the investigation. He said he declined.
POST declined to comment on the FRPD’s internal investigation.
“The POST Commission cannot comment on individual cases that may be pending. However, POST regulations require that all Law Enforcement Agencies submit completed internal affairs reports for complaints and incidents of misconduct and prohibited conduct,” according to POST communications coordinator Alia Spring in an email.
Hoar’s history with the Fall River Police Department
Hoar joined the Fall River Police Department in 2016 until he resigned shortly after his conviction.
Hoar comes from five generations of Fall River police officers. His brother, J.T. Hoar, was recently promoted to the department’s rank of deputy chief.
In 2017, a year into his joining the police department, Hoar was cleared in an officer-involved shooting that killed a 19-year-old New Bedford man after Hoar shot six times into the vehicle the man was driving.
The man’s family is suing Hoar, the police department and the city in a multimillion-dollar civil lawsuit.
Who is conducting the investigation?
Fall River Police Chief Paul Gauvin identified the independent firm handling the investigation as Comprehensive Investigations and Consulting of Quincy.
According to the firm’s website, the company conducts “independent and unbiased investigations for local and state agencies,” as well as consulting with departments on policy and compliance issues.
“We want to ensure we are following all POST guidelines, and with the entire investigation we are going with an outside agency,” said Gauvin. “We’ll see what comes out of the investigation and we’ll go from there.”
Gauvin said that the department is looking at the fact that the FBI did not find probable cause that any additional crimes were committed.
“I don’t assume that it’s going to be a major finding at the end of the day, because obviously the FBI didn’t find that there was any other criminal wrongdoing.” said Gauvin. “We may be looking at any possible violations of rules, regulations or policy.”
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Fall River police hire team to investigate ex-cop guilty of brutality