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4 more police officers decertified by state commission. Here’s why.
The decisions land all four on the National Decertification Index and bar them from future law enforcement work statewide.
Massachusetts police oversight officials have revoked the certification of an ex-State Police trooper and three former police officers, officially barring them from future law enforcement work statewide.
The Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission’s June 27 orders decertify former trooper Matthew Sheehan, former Belchertown officer Michael Beaupre, former Agawam officer Christopher Brunelle, and former Springfield officer Samuel Gomez-Gonzalez.
The decisions also land all four on the National Decertification Index. The former officers have 30 days to appeal the decisions, though a copy of Beaupre’s decertification order indicates he agreed to the permanent revocation of his certification.
Police oversight:
The reasons cited for the officers’ decertification varied; under state law, the POST Commission can revoke an officer’s certification for felony convictions, knowingly falsified police reports, excessive use of force, or hate crimes, among other causes.
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In Sheehan’s case, the ex-trooper admitted that “while on duty and without justification, he fired his service rifle twice at a fleeing motor vehicle, striking the driver on the left foot and hitting the front of the driver’s vehicle,” according to the POST order.
Sheehan was charged in a 2018 incident during which he fired his service rifle at an all-terrain vehicle driver during a confrontation between troopers and a large group of motorbikes, dirt bikes, and mopeds purportedly riding erratically on Interstate 93 in Boston. Sheehan, who struck the man’s foot and one of the ATV’s tires, pleaded guilty in January to one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. A judge continued the case without a finding for three years and ordered 150 hours of community service.
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A 2018 Boston Globe report also uncovered Sheehan’s history of posting racist and offensive comments on a website called MassCops, some of which voiced support for officers who shoot suspects.
According to POST, Gomez-Gonzalez was fired from the Springfield Police Department in 2023 after the FBI alleged he was providing non-public law enforcement information to a drug trafficking organization operating out of a local bakery where he had previously worked.
The commission said it found that Gomez-Gonzalez “knowingly filed a written police report containing a false statement or committed perjury; is not fit for duty as an officer and is dangerous to the public; has a pattern of unprofessional police conduct that may escalate; and was terminated by his appointing agency for disciplinary reasons, and the appeal of his termination is completed.”
In Beaupre’s case, the redacted decertification order indicates the former officer resigned from the Belchertown Police Department in May 2022 following an incident earlier that year. MassLive reported at the time that Beaupre was accused of illegally videotaping women in various stages of nudity without their consent. He later pleaded guilty to several charges in the matter and received probation.
The POST Commission also found Brunelle “is not fit for duty as an officer and is dangerous to the public,” and that he “has a pattern of unprofessional police conduct that may escalate,” with several sustained internal affairs complaints.
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The former Agawam officer responded to a structure fire Aug. 5, 2023, and later admitted he was intoxicated while on duty and carrying his service firearm that day, according to the decertification order. Brunelle was hospitalized for possible smoke inhalation after responding to the fire, and his blood alcohol content clocked in at 0.135%, court records sh0w.
He also reportedly had a history of internal affairs complaints related to alcohol use during his time with Agawam police, according to POST. Brunelle was charged with operating under the influence of liquor and carrying a firearm while intoxicated in connection with the 2023 incident, but the case was ultimately disposed of with a plea deal.
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