Mass. police watchdog decertifies officer guilty of domestic assault
A police officer who pleaded guilty to charges connected to a series of domestic assaults has been decertified by the Massachusetts law enforcement watchdog, a move that carries a lifetime ban from police work in the commonwealth.
Nivaldo Mendes, a former member of the New Bedford Police Department, was charged in January with three instances last year of misdemeanor assault and battery on a family or household member. He also faced two felony charges of strangulation or suffocation stemming from two of the incidents, records on file in Taunton District Court show.
The Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission , a police oversight agency created after the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, revoked Mendes’ policing certification during a closed-door vote on July 17, according to a filing posted on its website.
He is the 57th police officer the board has decertified.
New Bedford Police officials placed Mendes on paid administrative leave just before the New Year, at which point he had been on the job for under a year , according to WPRI-TV and the New Bedford Light.
Mendes agreed to plead guilty to the three misdemeanor charges in February. A judge sentenced him to a year and a half of probation.
The two felony counts were continued without a finding, a ruling that allows them to be dismissed if Mendes maintains good behavior and meets the conditions of his probation.
One lawyer listed as having represented Mendes in the case said he was no longer a client. A second lawyer who represented Mendes did not respond to a voicemail seeking comment.
The POST Commission is required to decertify any officer convicted of a felony and treats a continuation without a finding as equivalent to a conviction.
Of the nearly five dozen officers the board has decertified, many — though not all — were convicted of felonies ranging from drunken driving to child exploitation.
The board also has broad discretion to pull an officer’s certification for egregious but noncriminal misconduct. It has decertified officers accused of repeatedly using excessive force, falsifying records and using drugs or alcohol on the job.
By law, each of their names are submitted to a national registry of decertified officers, intended to provide notice to far-away police departments if the former officers cross state lines in search of police work.
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