Police files sent to 25 Investigates withheld from state

DARTMOUTH, Mass. — 25 Investigates has uncovered the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission had no record of disciplinary action the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Police Department took against 2 of its officers, as required by the police reform act of 2021.

UMass Dartmouth is located on the south coast and is the southernmost campus of the UMass system.

25 Investigates received a thumb drive in the mail with no name or return address. The drive contains copies of internal affairs reports, transcripts of interviews an outside investigator conducted with officers, and emails.

The records show former UMass Police Chief Haydee Martinez hired Al Donovan from Tewksbury-based APD Management to probe the accidental discharge of a firearm in a police station bathroom on August 31, 2021. According to Donovan’s report, Officer Keith DePaco removed his gun from his holster and hung the loaded firearm on a coat hook inside a bathroom stall.

“When he reached for his firearm when he was leaving, the firearm discharged several times, upwards toward the ceiling, striking an overhead water pipe and causing flooding of the bathroom area,” the report states.

When asked how the gun went off, DePaco said, “I just, I can’t explain it. I don’t know,” according to an interview transcript.

Donovan noted that then Lt. John Souza was initially assigned to probe the accidental gunfire but Donovan found Souza’s investigation to be “incomplete, ineffective, and incompetent.”

A University plumber brought in to fix the pipe discovered shell casings left in the bathroom, according to the documents.

Souza has since been promoted to police chief.

Several files on the USB stick are from a separate investigation Donovan conducted into Lt. Damon Gomes who was an overnight supervisor. One report said the department received an anonymous email alleging that Gomes’ patrol car was seen parked for the “majority of the night” at the New Bedford home of a female co-worker. The home is a 16-minute drive from the campus and 6 miles away.

Donovan found Lt. Gomes left campus during, “8-10 separate shifts without notifying the dispatch center or his subordinates that he would be out of service and out of the area,” according to an investigative report.

A UMass Dartmouth spokesperson told 25 Investigates Gomes received a 4-day suspension and 6-month demotion and DePaco was terminated, but later reinstated through a police union arbitration process.

Police departments are required to notify POST when officers are investigated and disciplined for serious matters. POST certifies police officers and maintains a public database of disciplinary decisions searchable by department and officer name.

Neither Gomes’ nor DePaco’s names appear in the database because the UMass Police Department failed to report their discipline. A UMass Dartmouth spokesperson said the school submitted “initial records” about Gomes and DePaco’s conduct in a spreadsheet in 2022.

Enrique Zuniga, Executive Director of The Post Commission, told investigative reporter Ted Daniel, that most of the state’s 430 police departments are making a good faith effort to comply with reporting requirements but there are outliers.

“It is absolutely critical that all departments read the regulations, understand them, and apply them as intended because we rely on all of the work that they do,” Zuniga said. “We spend a fair amount of time educating and communicating what those rules are.”

The anonymous tipster provided one email former Chief Martinez sent to University Vice Chancellors Kimberly Scott and Deborah Majewski in July 2022 about POST reporting. Martinez stated she could not attest to the “good moral character” of Gomes and DePaco.

The University placed Martinez on leave the following day and she never returned. A University spokesperson said Martinez’s departure was the result of “personnel issues” and is not connected to POST reporting.

The union representing UMass Dartmouth police officers had previously accused Martinez of creating a hostile work environment and called for her resignation. The union said Martinez was unqualified and “unable to effectively perform her duties.”

A UMass Dartmouth spokesperson said representatives met with POST in late October about the missing disciplinary records and the police department “is making good faith efforts to provide the necessary documentation.”

POST has announced plans to audit police departments across the state to verify disciplinary reporting compliance.

“There’s a big incentive, I would argue, for people to be in compliance at a personal level because their certification could be suspended,” Zuniga said.

Neither Martinez nor the UMass Dartmouth police union responded to multiple requests for comment.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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