Former police chief Paul Gauvin will return to the Fall River Police Department as a captain after a state commission found the city went too far in firing him in April 2025.

 

In a decision dated Aug. 6, the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission found that Gauvin “engaged in misconduct that warrants discipline.” But its findings “depart significantly” from those in the 2025 external report that led to Gauvin’s firing, commissioner Paul Stein wrote.

 

The commission, an appeals body for public employees, modified Gauvin’s firing to a 90-day suspension, allowing him to return to work.

 

Gauvin joined FRPD in 1997. He served as chief from May 2022 until October 2024, when he resigned after votes of no confidence from both of the department’s unions, the Fall River Police Superior Officers Association and the Fall River Police Patrolman’s Association.

 

Gauvin was supposed to return to his position before becoming chief, which was leading the major crimes division. But allegations by Gauvin’s successor, now ex-chief Kelly Furtado, prompted the city to instead hire an external investigator to write the report that led to Gauvin’s firing months later.

 

He appealed the decision to the civil service commission.