Three former police officers and an ex-State Police trooper have had their certification revoked by Massachusetts police oversight officials, thus disqualifying them from any further law enforcement activity in the state.
Former trooper Matthew Sheehan, former Belchertown cop Michael Beaupre, former Agawam officer Christopher Brunelle, and former Springfield officer Samuel Gomez-Gonzalez were all decertified by the Peace cop Standards and Training (POST) Commission on June 27.
Additionally, all four rulings are listed on the National Decertification Index. Although a copy of Beaupre’s decertification order shows he consented to the permanent revocation of his certification, the former officers have 30 days to appeal the findings.
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The POST Commission has the authority to remove an officer’s certification for a variety of reasons, including excessive use of force, criminal convictions, willfully fabricated police reports, and hate crimes.
According to the POST order, Sheehan, the former trooper, acknowledged firing his service rifle twice at a fugitive car while on duty and without cause, injuring the driver’s left foot and the front of the vehicle.
Sheehan was charged in a 2018 incident in which he shot an all-terrain vehicle driver with his service weapon following a clash between troopers and a sizable contingent of mopeds, dirt bikes, and motorcycles that were allegedly riding erratically on Boston’s Interstate 93. In January, Sheehan entered a guilty plea to one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon after striking the man’s foot and one of the ATV’s tires. A judge mandated 150 hours of community service and postponed the case for three years without a verdict.
Sheehan’s history of making racist and obscene remarks on a website called MassCops, some of which expressed sympathy for police officers who shoot criminals, was also revealed in a 2018 Boston Globe piece.
The FBI accused Gomez-Gonzalez of giving non-public law enforcement information to a drug trafficking network that operated out of a local bakery where he had previously worked, leading to his dismissal from the Springfield Police Department in 2023, according to POST.
According to the commission, Gomez-Gonzalez was fired by his appointing agency for disciplinary reasons, and his appeal of his termination is complete. He also knowingly filed a written police report that contained a false statement or committed perjury, is unfit to serve as an officer and poses a risk to the public, and has a history of unprofessional police behavior that could worsen.
The redacted decertification ruling in Beaupre’s case states that the former officer left the Belchertown Police Department in May 2022 after an incident that year. At the time, MassLive reported that Beaupre was charged with unlawfully filming women in various nudity phases without getting their permission. He was placed on probation after entering a guilty plea to a number of the charges in the case.
In addition, the POST Commission determined that Brunelle is hazardous to the public, unfit to serve as an officer, and has a history of unprofessional police behavior that could worsen, as evidenced by multiple ongoing internal affairs allegations.
The decertification decision states that the former Agawam officer admits to being drunk while on duty and carrying his service handgun on August 5, 2023, when he responded to a structure fire. According to court documents, Brunelle’s blood alcohol concentration was 0.135% when he was admitted to the hospital for suspected smoke inhalation following his response to the incident.
According to POST, he also allegedly had a history of internal affairs complaints about alcohol consumption while working for Agawam police. In relation to the 2023 incident, Brunelle was charged with operating under the influence of alcohol and carrying a pistol while intoxicated; however, the issue was eventually resolved through a plea agreement.
Abby Patkin covers a wide range of topics as a general assignment news reporter, including crime, public transportation, health, and everything in between. She has been reporting on the murder case of Karen Read.
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