New Bedford has fired two police officers after an internal investigation found they used the city’s Flock license plate reader system for personal reasons. Mayor Jon Mitchell announced the terminations on Thursday, October 22, 2026, on the recommendation of Police Chief Jason Thody. According to the city’s announcement as reported by 7News, one officer searched a single license plate, believed to belong to her ex-girlfriend, 658 times between January and July 2026. A sergeant searched one plate 68 times between May and July.
Neither officer has been charged with a crime, and both may have appeal rights. Here is what the city found, what happens next for the officers and the cameras, and what Massachusetts law says about this kind of misuse.
What the investigation found
According to the city’s announcement, published by New Bedford Guide and reported by WCVB, NBC10 Boston and 7News:
- Officer Emily Pacheco. Her Flock access was suspended on July 31, 2026, the same day Thody ordered an audit of the department’s use of the system. A Professional Standards Unit investigation found she violated department policies on the technology, entered inaccurate information into department systems, failed to follow procedures, and “engaged in conduct inconsistent with the standards expected of Department personnel.” 7News reported that she searched a plate believed to be her ex-girlfriend’s 658 times and a second plate, believed to belong to the ex-girlfriend’s new partner, 229 times. NBC10 reported that the ex-girlfriend had requested a protective order.
- Sgt. James Marinelli. The investigation found he misused the system “by conducting searches for personal reasons,” and his access was also suspended. 7News reported that he searched one plate 68 times between May and July because he believed his partner was cheating on him. His name appears as both Marinelli and Martinelli in the city’s announcement; WCVB and NBC10 use Marinelli.
- Hearings. The terminations followed internal investigations and hearings for both officers, according to the city.
“The conduct uncovered by the Police Department’s internal audit represents more than failure of compliance with policies and regulations; it is a breach of public trust,” Mitchell said. Thody said the investigations “uncovered repeated patterns of misuse of the Flock system for personal reasons and violations of department rules and policies.”
The cameras are still off
New Bedford shut off its Flock system on August 11, 2026. The city says the firings complete the first phase of a 2026 audit. A separate audit of the period from when the department adopted Flock, December 20, 2024, through December 31, 2025, is still underway, and the city says its results will be made public. Mitchell, Thody and members of the City Council are developing a regulatory framework for any future use of license plate readers, and Thody has collected public feedback on the technology, according to the announcement.
“Members of the public have raised reasonable concerns about privacy implications of ALPR systems, which should be fully considered before the Department contemplates its further use,” Mitchell said.
What the law says
Discipline and appeals. A firing is an employment decision, not a criminal conviction. For police officers who hold tenured civil service positions, G.L. c. 31, § 41 bars discharge “[e]xcept for just cause,” after written notice and a hearing, and § 43 allows an appeal to the Civil Service Commission “within 10 days after receiving written notice” of the decision. Officers covered by a union contract may instead have grievance and arbitration rights. We have not seen any report of whether either officer will appeal.
The POST Commission. The state’s Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission can act on an officer’s certification independently of the city. Under G.L. c. 6E, § 10(b), it “may, after a hearing, suspend or revoke an officer’s certification” if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the officer “was suspended or terminated by their appointing agency for disciplinary reasons, and any appeal of said suspension or termination is completed,” or “has a pattern of unprofessional police conduct that commission believes may escalate.” The city has not said whether it has referred the cases to POST.
Criminal law. No criminal charges have been reported. Massachusetts’ criminal harassment statute, G.L. c. 265, § 43A, punishes anyone who “willfully and maliciously engages in a knowing pattern of conduct or series of acts over a period of time directed at a specific person, which seriously alarms that person and would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress,” with up to two and a half years in a house of correction, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. It covers conduct carried out through electronic devices and systems. A pattern of secret searches is not enough on its own, though: the person targeted must have been seriously alarmed, which usually means they knew about the conduct. In Braintree, a former detective accused of running his ex-girlfriend’s plate more than 1,000 times was charged with criminal harassment; that case also involved a GPS tracker on her car. We covered the Braintree and Revere cases here.
A pattern across Massachusetts
New Bedford is at least the third Massachusetts department in recent months where an officer has been accused of using Flock cameras to track a current or former partner, after Braintree and Revere. In each case, the misuse surfaced through the system’s own search logs. The logs record who searched, what plate, and when. That makes misuse traceable, but only if someone reviews the logs. New Bedford’s audit began July 31; Pacheco’s searches had started in January, according to 7News.
Day-to-day use of the cameras is governed largely by local contracts and department policies, with constitutional limits set by the courts. Our Quincy post explains how the SJC has approached plate reader data under Article 14.
Frequently asked questions
Why were two New Bedford police officers fired?
The city says an internal investigation found Officer Emily Pacheco and Sgt. James Marinelli used the department’s Flock license plate reader system for personal reasons. 7News reported that Pacheco searched a plate believed to be her ex-girlfriend’s 658 times and Marinelli searched one plate 68 times.
Does New Bedford still use Flock cameras?
No. The city shut off its Flock system on August 11, 2026. The mayor, police chief and City Council are developing rules for any future use, and a second audit covering December 2024 through December 2025 is ongoing.
Can a fired police officer appeal in Massachusetts?
Usually. Tenured civil service officers can appeal a discharge to the Civil Service Commission within 10 days of written notice under G.L. c. 31, § 43, and many officers have grievance rights under a union contract. Separately, the POST Commission can suspend or revoke certification after a disciplinary termination once any appeal is complete.
Is it a crime for police to misuse license plate readers?
There is no Massachusetts statute specific to plate reader misuse. Depending on the facts, misuse can support charges such as criminal harassment under G.L. c. 265, § 43A. No charges have been reported in the New Bedford cases.
Sources: City of New Bedford announcement, October 22, 2026, as published by New Bedford Guide; WCVB, NBC10 Boston and 7News (WHDH), October 22, 2026. G.L. c. 31, §§ 41 and 43; c. 6E, § 10; and c. 265, § 43A read at malegislature.gov. Neither officer has been charged with a crime. General information, not legal advice.