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Less than one year after retiring as New Bedford’s police chief, and decades since working as a detective, Paul Oliveira wants to put his police skills to use as a private investigator in Massachusetts.
Oliveira has a request pending with the state’s police oversight body to voluntarily relinquish his certification as a police officer, a requirement before obtaining a private investigator license from Massachusetts State Police’s certification unit.
In Massachusetts, nearly 700 people were licensed private investigators as of late last year.
Oliveira filed his application to relinquish with the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission in late January, as well as a supplemental application early this month, in which he updated his answers to key questions regarding “alleged conduct.”
“I am in the process of applying for a private Investigator license,” Oliveira wrote.
The POST Commission is scheduled to consider his request to relinquish police certification at its Thursday meeting. His certification is due to expire in July.
The Light reached out to Oliveira by text and phone but did not receive a response.
The POST Commission asks whether the applicant has been involved in a civil or administrative action involving alleged bias, civil rights violations, violence, abuse, excessive force, prejudice to justice, injury or death. For any “yes” answers, applicants are asked to provide details on the allegations and outcomes.
In his first application, Oliveira filled in “no” for all of the above. But in the supplemental application, he wrote “yes” for the “civil rights violations” and “violence, abuse or excessive force” categories.
A spokesperson for the POST Commission on Tuesday said that after staff reviewed his first application, they “learned of a federal lawsuit involving Oliveira that was not disclosed. Staff provided Oliveira the opportunity to submit a supplement application with additional information, which he did.”
“I, as Chief, along with other members of the New Bedford Police Department and the City of New Bedford were named in a civil lawsuit,” Oliveira wrote in the supplemental application. “I spoke with City Solicitor Eric [Jaikes] on February 2, 2026 and learned that matter had been resolved on April 22, 2024 for $17,500. It was formally dismissed in May of 2024.”
The federal lawsuit, filed in 2022, alleged excessive force by New Bedford police officers in 2019, when Oliveira was deputy chief. Oliveira was later named as one of the defendants. A review of court records confirms that the case was settled.
In his application, Oliveira did not list an earlier lawsuit filed in Bristol County Superior Court in 2021. It was brought by a former city police officer who alleged retaliation and discrimination over sexual orientation starting in 2017, and that department leadership, including Oliveira as deputy chief, failed to address or remediate it.
That suit started with a complaint filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination that alleged civil rights violations.
The claims against Oliveira were dismissed upon agreement of both parties in August 2024. The ex-New Bedford officer lost the case against the city and other since-retired department leaders in November 2024, and is currently appealing the lower court ruling in the state appeals court.
The POST spokesperson said the commission requires applicants to list all incidents in which they have been involved for the requested categories. Oliveira did not disclose the second matter, and commission staff are now reviewing it after The Light inquired about it.
What does a PI do?
Susan Lyons, a longtime private investigator in Massachusetts, said it’s common for retired police chiefs and officers to become PIs. She said they are ultimately private citizens and must follow the law.
However, the state-issued license, which requires renewal annually, gives them access to certain databases that assist with locating people.
Investigators are hired by citizens, attorneys, insurance companies and other businesses for various reasons: a person owes money, is needed as a witness, is suspected of infidelity, or may not be abiding to conditions of a child custody agreement.
If the PI carries a firearm or has a license to carry, Lyons says that information must be communicated to the State Police’s licensing unit.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, private investigators earned a median salary of about $52,000 in 2024. Many listed in the state’s directory appear to run their own firms.
Oliveira, 55, has earned more than $100,000 in retirement to date, according to the New Bedford Retirement Board.
He served 32 years on the city’s force, including as deputy chief and a narcotics detective, and retired last May, more than two years before his contract was set to expire. His retirement announcement came weeks before the Boston Globe published an investigative series that alleged egregious misconduct by Oliveira, along with other narcotics officers, regarding confidential informants.
In an interview with The Light last year, Oliveira denied the allegations and defended his integrity, as well as that of the department.
The POST Commission will convene a virtual public meeting on Thursday morning to discuss several agenda items. Oliveira’s application is on the docket.
As part of the evaluation and decision process, former employers and the general public were invited to submit comments on his application by Feb. 16.
The POST Commission spokesperson said the agency received one public comment, which will be made available when the matter is heard.
Email Anastasia E. Lennon at alennon@newbedfordlight.org.
