Community
City of Fall River settles lawsuit involving former police officer related to allegations of excessive force

The City of Fall River has settled a lawsuit involving former police officer Michael Pessoa, related to allegations of excessive force.
Filed in January 2022 in federal court, David Lafrance alleged that Pessoa assaulted him in February 2019 outside his South Main Street apartment during a neighbor dispute. Video surveillance captured Pessoa striking Lafrance, who was initially detained but released without charges until the assault occurred.
The City settled for $100,000 without admitting any wrongdoing, according to a report by The Public’s Radio.
Pessoa was indicted in June 2019 on 15 counts related to assaults on four men between 2014 and 2019, including charges of assault, civil rights violations, witness intimidation, and filing false police reports. Four charges were dismissed in 2021, and the remaining cases were split into three separate trials. In May 2023, Pessoa was convicted and sentenced to 1 1/2 to 3 years in state prison.
Among the lawsuits the City has previously settled is a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging that Pessoa and officer Andre DeMelo severely fractured Carlos Roldan’s leg during an arrest in October 2014. Roldan was arrested after questioning Pessoa about his sister’s treatment during an altercation. The city settled for $225,000 in May 2019.
In a lawsuit that remains pending, nearly two dozen officers were named in a $34 million federal lawsuit filed by the family of 19-year-old Larry Ruiz-Barreto, who was shot and killed by officer Nicholas Hoar in November 2017 in the Fall River Industrial Park. Pessoa is alleged to have assaulted family at Charlton Memorial Hospital, where Ruiz-Barreto was pronounced dead.