|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
A former New Bedford police officer was decertified by the state’s police oversight body on Friday following her suspension from the department in 2024 and resignation later that year.
Imari Soares is the second former New Bedford police officer to be decertified this year. The first was Nivaldo Mendes, who had been with the department for about one year when he was charged in 2024 with strangulation and domestic assault and battery. He was decertified in July.
The Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission, the body established by the state’s 2020 police reform legislation, redacted information on its decision on Soares: “The Commission finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that the Respondent has been [redacted]… Thus, the Respondent’s certification is hereby revoked.”
When an officer is decertified by the commission, it means they are not eligible for employment at law enforcement agencies in Massachusetts. Per the POST Commission, only about 70 officers of the more than 19,600 registered in the system have been decertified.
Soares had been charged in 2024 with two felonies for allegedly acting as an accessory after the fact to a domestic violence incident involving a man she was dating. The man allegedly threatened his ex-girlfriend with a firearm and forced entry into her New Bedford apartment. The man told police he then left his ex’s apartment in a car owned by Soares and met with the on-duty officer.
Soares took his handgun and stored it in her backpack in its holster; it was loaded with one round in the chamber, a police report states. Soares allegedly did not disclose this until supervisors questioned her. At a supervisor’s request, Soares then called the man and persuaded him to turn himself in at the police station.
According to court records, Soares is serving probation through 2027. If she abides by the conditions of her probation, the charge of intimidating a witness or police will be dismissed. The other charge, accessory after the fact, was dropped by the district attorney’s office.
Under state law, decertified officers are also added to the National Decertification Index. Being on the national index, which is not freely accessible to the public, does not mean a former officer is barred from working in law enforcement nationally. But, it can preclude their ability to get another job in a different state if agencies check the index as part of their hiring and background check process.
Soares was on paid administrative leave from June 2024 through her resignation in November 2024. During that period, she was paid nearly $29,000, according to a spokesperson for the New Bedford Police Department.
Mendes was on paid administrative leave from January until his termination in late April of this year. He earned about $20,000 in that period.
He pleaded guilty to assault and battery on a family or household member in February and is serving probation, according to court records.
Police Chief Jason Thody, who took on the position in July, declined comment on Soares’ decertification, with a spokesperson stating the incident occurred well before his arrival and it would not be appropriate for him to comment.
The Light attempted to reach Soares by phone but did not hear back. She has 30 days to appeal the commission’s decision.
Email Anastasia Lennon at alennon@newbedfordlight.org.
There are a lot of school department administrators that need to be removed.