After an hourlong debate that was launched by colorful infighting between council members, the City Council rejected the appointment of Kelly Furtado as the Fall River Police Department chief of police at its April 8 meeting. 

Police officers filled the majority of seats in the City Council chambers in an unprecedented show of support for Furtado, who had been serving as the department’s interim chief since Oct. 15 of last year, following former Chief Paul Gauvin being returned to his prior rank of captain in September 2024. 

Arguments in defense of both the third-party investigation conducted by Daniel Bennett’s Comprehensive Investigations and Consulting LLC that resulted in Gauvin’s termination on March 31 — and Furtado’s tenacious ability to lead with integrity and boost officers’ morale — were hurled between city councilors, eventually resulting in a narrow 5-4 vote, broken only by City Council President Joseph D. Camara.

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