A police officer accused of having an inappropriate relationship with Sandra Birchmore was the subject of a Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission status conference Tuesday, where his attorney fought to keep her name out of the proceedings.
Former Stoughton Police officer William Farwell is one of three officers accused of having an inappropriate relationship with Birchmore, one of which started when she was underage and taking part in the department's youth explorers program. The officers denied the accusation.
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The details of the case did not become public until after Birchmore, who was three months pregnant, was found dead in 2021. While her death was originally ruled a suicide, according to the Boston Globe, a pathologist hired by her family found Birchmore's death was in fact a homicide.
Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673, and Massachusetts provides this list of statewide and resources for sexual assault survivors.
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The POST Commission is considering decertification for Farwell, but he is not interested in accepting that decertification.
Farwell is accused of sexting with Birchmore while he was on duty, inappropriately using the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS) database and lying to state police about the last time he saw Birchmore. At Tuesday's hearing, attorney David Bae contended that the allegations against his client could be discussed without specifically naming Birchmore. She is referred to by her initials - SB - in documentation.
"They don’t have to name Sandra Birchmore, the SB – they don’t have to do that," Bae said. "The only reason why they would inject SB’s name into this is to garner some sympathy or some rage."
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POST Commission attorney Shaun Martinez pushed back, saying her identity is integral to the "burden of proof" needed for the POST Commission to find an "officer has unprofessional pattern of conduct that may escalate."
"The division’s position is that the relationship in particular between SB and William Farwell really informs upon the level of unprofessionalism that William Farwell engaged in and would be important to any discretionary discipline that the Commision would impose," Martinez said.
No final decisions about Farwell's fate were made. Discussion turned to Farwell's DCJIS search history and a decision to subpoena someone from DCJIS to get those records. There will be another status conference on Sept. 16 and a hearing in November.
Birchmore's family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office has confirmed a criminal investigation.
