The latest alleged law enforcement misconduct in Mass, Oct. 26-Nov. 8

Here are the media reports of alleged law enforcement misconduct in Massachusetts that I’ve tracked during the last two weeks.

First, here are the incidents involving federal law enforcement, including immigration agents:

• “The state’s Board of Bar Overseers voted to issue a public reprimand for misconduct to disgraced former U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins, but three members of the board dissented, preferring to reject the penalty as ‘too lenient.’ The board, which oversees Rollins’ law license, voted Oct. 14 to accept the recommended public reprimand that Rollins agreed to on June 30, when she admitted to improperly disclosing sensitive Department of Justice information to a Herald reporter about a possible investigation into the Suffolk District Attorney while he was running for election, per board records.” (Boston Herald)
• “A Boston federal judge [on November 6] ordered Mirian Ximena Abarca Tixe freed immediately from the 8x10 windowless basement room with no bed or sink - or access to her lawyer - that ICE stuck her in [the prior] week after returning her from the Texas prison it had shoved her in without telling anybody.” (Universal Hub)
• “Five women and four men from Central America were detained in [a November 4] raid [at Allston Car Wash]. … Videos online show over a dozen vehicles swarming the car wash, people being put into vehicles, and one agent pointing a gun at an immigrant as they’re led into a van. … ‘I know several of the people had valid work permits,’ said [attorney Todd] Pomerleau.” (GBH)
• “A Massachusetts man seen on video having an apparent seizure during a struggle with immigration agents as he holds his wife and crying toddler says he lost consciousness after agents pushed and hit him and pressed on his neck. … [Carlos] Zapata said he and his wife are from Ecuador and entered the country unlawfully several years ago. They have since applied for asylum in a case that is pending and are authorized to work, he said.” (Associated Press)

And here are the other stories involving state and local law enforcement:

• “A federal judge has approved a final $6.75 million settlement in a class action lawsuit involving violence against prisoners at [a] Massachusetts maximum security prison. The approval means that more than 150 prisoners and those who have been released will receive between $10,000 and $40,000 after a crackdown at the Souza Baranowski Correctional Center in 2020. Dozens of prisoners alleged they were beaten, attacked with dogs, racially targeted and retaliated against after an attack on correction officers.” (WBUR)
• “A hearing officer has issued recommendations in disciplinary proceedings against a [former] Stoughton police deputy chief [Robert C. Devine] accused of misconduct in the case of Sandra Birchmore, though the state’s law enforcement watchdog said [on October 28] that it is keeping the proposal secret for now.” (Boston Globe; paywalled)
• “A former [Stoughton] police officer who earlier pleaded not guilty to killing a woman he is accused of sexually exploiting when she was underage was charged [October 28] with causing the death of her unborn son. Matthew Farwell, 39, of Easton, is accused of strangling Sandra Birchmore in early 2021 after she told him that she was pregnant and that he was the father.” (Associated Press)
• “An ex-cop accused of having a sexual encounter with Sandra Birchmore and then lying about it will never again work in law enforcement in the state, according to a Sept. 25 decision from the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission. Former Stoughton animal control officer Joshua Heal entered into a voluntary agreement with the Commission … to effectively let his Massachusetts license, which expired in July, stay expired.” (Enterprise)
• “A former Lawrence police captain has been indicted by a grand jury for allegedly assaulting a detainee [in 2023] and falsifying reports about the incident, court filings show. Michael Mangan, who once led the Lawrence Police Department’s Special Operations division, was indicted [October 28] on two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law and two counts of false report, according to the indictment.” (Boston.com)
• “On [October 27], Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox was the subject of a scathing letter sent to Mayor Michelle Wu from Karen Read’s defense attorney, Alan Jackson, who demanded that the BPD head be placed on Boston’s “Brady List” for officers with credibility issues. … Jackson’s letter centers around Commissioner Cox’s comments on July 10, when he denied knowledge that then-Boston police officer Kelly Dever was involved in the Karen Read case before she was called to testify in the first trial in 2024. … Jackson says an email exchange Cox had with the FBI’s Boston Field Office on February 22, 2024, explicitly references Dever and her connection to the Read case.” (Boston 25 News)
• “An Internal Affairs report from 2021 … details an incident where then-[Massachusetts State Police] Trooper Dwayne Correia had his gun stolen out of his unmarked cruiser following a night of drinking in Providence. Investigators found Correia had intentionally disabled his [crusier’s GPS] tracker to ‘conceal’ his whereabouts ‘from his supervisors.’” (Boston 25 News)
• “A former Fitchburg police officer was arraigned on Oct. 29 for allegedly raping a woman while on duty. James McCall was … charged with one count of aggravated rape. … On Sept. 23, 2025, the Massachusetts State Police received a report from a victim who claimed McCall raped her in either late 2014 or early 2015.” (WCVB)
• “The Canton Police Department confirmed that Sgt. Sean Goode, a veteran officer who was working the night of John O’Keefe’s death and testified during the first Karen Read trial, has been placed on administrative leave while the department investigates allegations of misconduct. I-Team sources say the allegations of misconduct involving Sgt. Goode stem from an investigation into former Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor.” (WBZ)
• “A former college police officer is behind bars after he allegedly battered the woman he was living with by pointing a gun at her head and causing multiple bruises on her face and limbs, according to Plymouth police. Robert Coppage, 60, of Plymouth, was working as a campus security officer at Massasoit Community College in Brockton when he was charged on October 28 with a dozen criminal counts.” (Plymouth Independent)
• “The fallout from the phone records of former Massachusetts State Police Detective Michael Proctor could be larger than initially estimated, potentially impacting up to 19 murder cases, according to a recent court filing. … State Police fired Proctor in March, citing in part his seemingly biased and vindictive text messages revealed in Karen Read’s first trial for the death of John O’Keefe.” (Boston 25 News)
• “A Boston MBTA Transit Police officer who allegedly drove up onto the sidewalk and crashed into a pole while driving drunk is on ‘modified duty’ as his case plays out in municipal court. Massachusetts State Police troopers arrested Jonathan Daveiga, 29, of Boston, in the early morning hours of Oct. 19, and charged him with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor as well as failing to stop or yield.” (Boston Herald)
• “Cheshire Police Chief Michael Alibozek, 53, of Adams, was arrested [November 6] night by members of the Berkshire State Police Detective Unit after allegedly soliciting sex for a fee. … Following the incident, Alibozek was relieved of duty and placed on paid administrative leave by the Cheshire Town Administrator and Chair of the Selectboard.” (WWLP)

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