The city’s interim Police Chief Kelly Furtado has been appointed as permanent chief with a one-year contract, following a 5-4 vote from city councilors taken at the May 13 City Council meeting. 

She is Fall River's first female police chief.

In a third attempt by Mayor Paul Coogan to ask the City Council to approve Furtado as permanent chief, councilors voting in favor of her appointment won by a slim majority. At an April 22 City Council meeting, two councilors objected to her appointment, expressing their concerns about the transparency of city official appointments.

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