The Massachusetts POST Commission has revoked the certifications of four police officers, including Matthew Sheehan, barring them from future law enforcement roles. They are also listed on the National Decertification Index. Reasons for decertification include felony convictions and excessive use of force. Sheehan admitted to unjustifiably firing his service rifle at a fleeing driver during a 2018 incident, resulting in an assault and battery charge. He accepted a plea deal that included community service. Disciplinary actions reflect serious misconduct.
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 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.
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.
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