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NEW BEDFORD — Republican candidate for lieutenant governor and New Bedford City Councilor Shawn Oliver was arrested on a charge of operating under the influence of alcohol, according to the New Bedford Police Department.
Around 11:40 p.m., officers responded to Dartmouth Street for a motor vehicle crash involving an overturned car that struck multiple parked cars. Five cars were involved in the crash, spokesperson Holly Huntoon said, and two sustained “extensive damage.”
Oliver, 42, was taken to St. Luke’s for treatment of injuries and then placed under arrest. He was also charged with negligent operation of a motor vehicle, speeding and a marked lanes violation.
Sheriff Paul Heroux told The Light that Oliver was held at Ash Street Jail after being booked at around 6:45 a.m. A Light reporter was standing outside the jail when Oliver exited just after 9 a.m. on Sunday.
Oliver told the reporter he was in a crash on Dartmouth Street. He declined to comment further and did not answer questions about why he was taken into custody.
Oliver did not have a ride and walked away from the jail in a plain white T-shirt with his belongings in a plastic bag. It was 44 degrees outside. He had no visible injuries.
Glass, plastic and tire skidmarks were all present in front of the apartment complex across from the Stop & Shop on Dartmouth Street. A portion of the complex’s lawn was littered with fragments of clear plastic and what looked like pieces of a car’s front grille.
Mayor Jon Mitchell posted his reaction on his Facebook page.
“This morning, I was made aware that City Councilor Shawn Oliver was involved in a car accident in the South End and taken into custody,” he said. “I’m grateful to the New Bedford Police Department for their prompt response and relieved that no one was seriously injured. The allegations against Councilor Oliver are deeply concerning, and the public deserves to hear his explanation of what happened.”
Oliver has been campaigning across the state, including with his running mate, gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue.
Minogue posted on social media that he spoke to Oliver and asked him to immediately suspend his campaign. He said “…when elected, I will formally ask for his resignation.”
“I am extremely disappointed. Shawn is lucky to be alive and lucky that no one innocent was hurt,” Minogue said in the post. “Shawn is a father and grandfather, and he needs to put his family first. He needs to do the work to ensure this never happens again. If he needs help with that, I will help him.”
Amy Carnevale, chairwoman for the Massachusetts Republican Party, in a brief statement earlier on Sunday said the group “just learned of the car accident involving Shawn Oliver” and “are awaiting additional information as everyone else.”
The Light contacted Gov. Maura Healey’s office seeking comment.
On Saturday, Oliver was in Newton to speak with a conservative influencer and podcast host, according to his Facebook.
Oliver is not the first New Bedford City Councilor to face criminal charges over alleged drinking and driving. Hugh Dunn was charged with OUI in 2021 while a sitting city councilor after hitting cars in a parking lot in downtown New Bedford.
Oliver ran with Brian Shortsleeve on the Republican ticket until Shortsleeve’s defeat in the primary. Since Oliver was the only GOP lieutenant governor candidate, he was tapped as Minogue’s running mate.
Minogue in April had endorsed Anne Brensley for the lieutenant governor post, but she failed to hit the signature threshold to appear on the ballot after a fraudulent signature-gathering debacle.
Anne Manning Martin, another Republican lieutenant governor hopeful, was also disqualified from the ballot over fraudulent signatures following a complaint lodged by Oliver. Minogue called Oliver’s action “shameful,” prompting Shortsleeve to demand an apology for his running mate.
On primary night, Oliver spoke about aligning with Minogue as part of the GOP’s larger quest in the general election cycle.
“I’d also like to take a moment to congratulate Mike Minogue in winning the Republican nomination for governor,” Oliver told supporters gathered at the Sheraton Boston Hotel with the Shortsleeve campaign Sept. 1. “But now, with the primary behind us, we must truly unite to continue the mission for Massachusetts and defeat Maura Healey and Kim Driscoll this November because there is so much at stake.”
Oliver, a longtime corrections officer, was born and raised in New Bedford. He was elected to the Ward 3 City Council seat in February 2023. If elected lieutenant governor, Oliver said, he intended to meet with leaders from all 351 municipalities within his first year. He also planned to advocate for the commercial fishing industry.
This is a developing story.
Nathan Collins contributed reporting.
