The Bristol County District Attorney's office announced that the fatal police shooting of former acting New Bedford fire chief, Paul Coderre Jr., outside a Fairhaven bar last December, was an act of self-defense. According to MassLive, the incident, which resulted in police officers opening fire on Coderre after he struck a police officer in the leg with gunfire during a standoff, was justified under the circumstances.
On Dec. 29, 2023, Coderre had been drinking heavily at the Bayside Lounge, a practice he partook in most Fridays with members of the Bristol County Fire Chiefs Association; after a dispute that began inside the venue spilled into the parking lot, police were called to the scene, as The Boston Globe reports, it was during these escalating confrontations that Coderre brandished a firearm and fired towards the officers, prompting their response.
The district attorney's 19-page report, confirmed by all outlets, detailed the preceding altercation and the attempts by law enforcement to de-escalate the situation using various non-lethal weapons, which included stun guns, bean bags, and a BolaWrap device, none of which proved successful. "Based on a review of all the facts and circumstances related to this incident, there is no basis to conclude that the responding police officers committed a crime," DA Tom Quinn stated, with the report stressing that Coderre had appeared intoxicated and threatened to either kill himself or provoke officers to shoot him, this account was corroborated by TurnTo10.
The officer who was hit in the leg during the shootout was treated and released from St. Luke's Hospital, and Coderre, shot five times, was pronounced dead later at the same hospital. Authorities noted that Coderre was known to carry a firearm, as he was a firearms instructor and part-owner of a firearms store; the seriousness of his actions was always going to draw a serious response, reflecting the extreme pressure officers faced in that parking lot standoff, their training met with a situation where their hand was forced by the disintegration of negotiations and the immediate threat to their lives.
Quinn's report also highlighted that Coderre had been facing personal and legal challenges before the incident, including being fired for alleged dishonesty and his engagement in a legal battle with the city over his dismissal, his appeal had been favored by the Civil Service Commission just before the city chose to appeal that decision. His behavior on the day of the shooting was described as out-of-character by his wife, attributing it to stress and a new medication recently prescribed for his injuries; still, the findings of the Bristol County DA remain firm on the justification of the officers involved in the December 29 confrontation.
