Fall River Firefighter Crashes Into Home; Police Deny Public Records Request Two Weeks Later

Fourteen-days after police officers responded to a vehicle crash into a parked car and home on Montgomery Street driven by a Fall River firefighter, a public records request for all reports and body-worn camera footage was denied to the Fall River Reporter.

FRFD Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon confirmed on Thursday that the driver was Burns.

The reason: the case has not yet been adjudicated in court and FRFD Lt. Jason Burns has not yet been arraigned in court on any charges.

The incident that occurred on April 9, 2026 at 5:11 p.m. on the quiet neighborhood street, was caught on the homeowner’s home security camera and obtained by the Fall River Reporter.

The police department’s response came less than 24 hours after the request was made, and here is what they said:

“Dear Jo Goode,

The Fall River Police Department received a public records request from you on April 22, 2026.

Good morning. This case is still in the process of the adjudication process at court so I am unable to fulfill this request. 

The Fall River Police Department has reviewed your request and has determined that the records requested are exempt from disclosure under public records law for the following reasons:

Exemption (f), the investigatory exemption, provides custodians a basis for withholding: investigatory materials necessarily compiled out of the public view by law enforcement or other investigatory officials the disclosure of which materials would probably so prejudice the possibility of effective law enforcement that such disclosure would not be in the public interest.

The incident you are inquiring about is under investigation and the report cannot be released at this time.

For questions or additional information, please reply to this email. 

Sincerely,

Mark Stroke
Fall River Police Department
Records Clerks”

While it’s common practice for police departments to withhold police reports prior to a defendant being arraigned, it’s unclear why there have been no charges brought against Burns, a longtime firefighter and former union president, two weeks after the accident.

Mayor Paul Coogan confirmed Wednesday after an inquiry by a reporter about the accident, that a report exists and he will face a criminal charge.

However, what is not common practice is for police to fail to inform the city’s building inspector of a crash involving a vehicle hitting a building.

City building inspector Glenn Hathaway was asked by a reporter if he was notified by law enforcement about the accident.

“We weren’t contacted until after the fact,” said Hathaway, who did eventually inspect the home.