Members of the Stoughton Police Department have been involved in crimes ranging from extortion to selling stolen goods. The corruption cases have resulted in charges for two former sergeants and the police chief.

2002

April 2002 Sgt. Cohen attempted extortion while in uniform of a former Stoughton businessman who admitted to spending a $10,000 investment from a friend of Cohen.

2007

Sgt. David M. Cohen was sentenced to 21/2 years in state prison for attempted extortion, witness intimidation and filing a false police report. Cohen abused his police powers in attempting to collect a $10,000 debt owed to his friend by a businessman.

Aug. 27, 2007, Cohen began serving his sentence

2008

The federal probe began in 2008 when a thief and drug informant came forward and described a criminal relationship he had with Bickerton spanning 10 years. During their relationship, the informant said, he provided more than $30,000 worth of stolen electronics to Bickerton, who then resold them at reduced prices. FBI agents provided the informant with four supposedly stolen plasma screen televisions to give to Bickerton to sell.

FBI probe convicted a 30-year officer and snagged others for lying to federal agents.

2009

January, 2009 Chief Manuel J. Cachopa was found guilty of being an after-the-fact accessory to attempted extortion in January 2009. He was given three years probation for trying to cover up Cohen’s actions.

Oct. 13, 2009 Cohen’s conviction was overturned because of a jury selection error.

2010

Detective Sgt. Anthony Bickerton Sr., a 30-year veteran, was convicted in 2010 for lying to the FBI and trying to hide evidence. He served a year in jail for a 10-year criminal relationship with an informant during which he took more than $30,000 worth of stolen electronics. The informant said Bickerton later sold the goods at reduced prices.

Detective Arlindo Romeiro received three years of supervised probation and $3,000 in fines for lying to FBI investigators. He reportedly got involved with Bickerton, purchasing a stolen plasma TV.

2011

Cohen was tried again on Feb. 22, 2011.

2015

Robert Devine was a deputy police chief in Stoughton before he was demoted to patrol officer for “abusing his power.”

Dan Carmichael, a young lieutenant at the head of Stoughton’s police supervisor’s union, told the Department of Labor Relations he was subject to his own internal affairs investigation after he reported a lower-ranking officer for allegedly falling asleep in his cruiser and failing to respond to a domestic violence call. The sergeant in question was McNulty, the same officer McGowan is suing in court.

2020

one of McNamara’s officers, Kevin Lima, was charged with operating under the influence after he crashed his department-issued vehicle into a car stopped at a red light. (Lima, who refused to submit to a breathlyzer at the scene, was later acquitted of the charge).

Sergeant Paul Williams stood trial for vehicular homicide after a 2018 incident in which he drove off the road and ran over a 74-year-old Canton resident, reportedly dragging the man 40 feet beneath his truck. Williams — who police said didn’t appear intoxicated but was never tested for alcohol impairment — told officers at the scene he’d been choking on a lemon seed from his iced tea prior to the crash, records show. He was acquitted at trial and has resumed his job with Stoughton police.

 2023

July 12, 2023, the Commission voted to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Matthew Farwell.

2024

March 21, 2024 Matthew Farwell entered into a Voluntary Decertification Agreement: Agreement: https://www.mass.gov/doc/matthew-farwell-voluntary-decertification-agreement/download

Detective Matthew Farwell arrested for murder of Sandra Birchmore