OPINION: Two reasons it’s time to question the bullet and the knife story that resulted in the firing of former FRPD chief Paul Gauvin

I’m probably one of the few people who have read the long 300+ investigation report into former Fall River Police Department (FRPD) Chief Paul Galvin and there are some issues in the report that just don’t add up.

A little background

At the end of August, 2024, the FRPD union voted no confidence in Galvin. In September, 2024, Gauvin agreed to go back to the rank of Captain and return to the Major Crimes Division (MCD).

Gauvin would be replaced by new Chef Kelly Furtado who didn’t like Gauvin and would immediately investigate him based on a bullet and knife found in a desk. The day Gauvin stepped down, a bullet and a knife in the chief’s desk would be used by Chief Furtado to immediately launch an internal investigation. A broader external investigation resulted in Gauvin being fired instead of demoted back to his old job.

There are two reasons to have reasonable doubt that a bullet and knife justified an investigation into Gauvin.

In her own words – the “filthy” and “disgusting” office claim

First, the investigation is very long and in-depth (over 300 pages). Chief Furtado’s entire interview was transcribed and this portion stands out to me.

There were even photos taken during the investigation by the FRPD to document the bullet and knife. Does the office look “filthy” and “disgusting”? Keep in mind, these are the FRPD photos taken after Gauvin left and confirm Jess Machado’s photos of a very clean office.

Why would Furtado say the office was “filthy” and “disgusting” when it clearly wasn’t? Why did she need a reasons to leave the office to find cleaning supplies? When she returned a bullet and knife were found by Sgt. Mendes (later promoted to Lt.) while the chief was gone.

Per Paul Gauvin in the investigation report, Furtado was Absent Without Leave (AWOL) leading up to the transfer of chief. This ensured no direct transfer of information between Gauvin and Furtado, which is a horrible way to transition the top spot in a police department. Turnover in person is important and would have likely resulted in a smooth transition of power, but instead Fall River got controversy.

Mendes finds the bullet and knife, Medes also writes up a questionable search warrant

Lt. Mendes, who discovered the bullet and knife in the desk, also wrote the questionable search warrant that unmasked a Facebook user who was posting about Furtado’s son Christopher Teves on the FRPD’s Facebook page. It’s highly likely Furtado ordered Mendes to write up and submit the search warrant. There are unverified reports that the FRPD thought Gauvin was the fake profile on Facebook and the target of the search warrant. Lt. Mendes finds the bullet and the knife after Furtado leaves to find cleaning supplies (when it’s obvious none were needed) and later writes up a questionable search warrant because Furtado’s son is being targeted on social media. The search warrant resulted in unmasking a former FRPD officer as the poster, but not Gauvin. The search warrant wasn’t returned within the required seven days and stayed confidential for three and a half months and only after Fall River Reporter visited the magistrate clerk’s office three times and the FRPD twice.

Reasonable doubt?

In the courts, juries use a “responsible doubt” standard for finding someone not guilty. I think there are at least two reasons to find reasonable doubt that a bullet and knife were the real reason a full investigation into Gauvin occurred:

1. The office was not “filthy” and “disgusting” as Jess Machado’s and the FRPD’s own photos show. If you are going to lie about something like that, it’s hard to believe a bullet and knife justified an investigation that ruined a police officer’s 28-year career.

2. Lt. Mendes was the officer who found the bullet and the knife and also the same officer who wrote up the questionable search warrant. There’s a high probability that Furtado ordered the search warrant hoping to unmask Gauvin. The bullet and the knife and the search warrant are likely ways to target Gauvin, but only a new investigation can reveal or clear that.

Furtado and Gauvin had a history of friction (mentioned in the report) and several of my sources within the FRPD state Furtado didn’t want him back in the building once he stepped down. A bullet and knife was a convenient reason to get an investigation going, but you’d have to believe Gauvin was overtly making a threat against his new boss (who in the past promoted her Captain) and Furtado felt her life was in jeopardy. Police chief’s have the power to take guns away from their officers or pull an LTC away from a resident. If she truly felt threatened, she could have disarmed Gauvin, but didn’t.

Mayor Coogan and his staff did everything they could to block the questionable search warrant from getting an independent investigation. Only after public pressure, the search warrant was finally pushed to HR for a very limited investigation – an attempt to satisfy the city council who is pushing for an independent investigation.

A bullet and a knife in a desk lead to a 300+ page investigation that ended a 28-year career, but a questionable search warrant gets an HR investigation? It doesn’t add up.