A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed by the widow of Paul N. Coderre Jr., former New Bedford fire chief, against the city of New Bedford, Mayor Jonathan Mitchell, and the Bayside Lounge where he was overserved alcohol before being shot by police in 2023, as reported by the Boston Globe and South Coast Today. The complaint, filed in Bristol Superior Court, details that Coderre was suffering from a "psychotic episode" due to alleged defamation and emotional distress inflicted by the mayor's actions over the two years prior to his death.
The suit indicates that Coderre became visibly intoxicated at the Bayside Lounge, a popular gathering place for off-duty emergency responders, and continued to be served drinks, pushing his blood alcohol level to more than triple the legal limit, lawyers David Hoey and Philip Beauregard representing Coderre's widow and family highlighted those claims, the establishment reportedly neglected signs warnings signs of his intoxication despite Massachusetts laws against serving alcohol to an intoxicated person, according to South Coast Today.
On the fateful day, following the accumulation of distress caused by a dismissal, an accusation of fraudulent disability claims, and a subsequent reinstatement by the Civil Service Commission, which the city appealed - leading to Coderre's alleged "psychotic episode," the tragedy unfolded outside the Bayside Lounge after attempts to prevent an intoxicated Coderre from driving escalated into a fatal police standoff, revealed in court filings and described further in the South Coast Today report.
In response to the accusations, New Bedford City Solicitor Eric Jaikes stated, "The complaint is without merit," reinforcing that "The termination of Paul Coderre was appropriate and legally justified under the circumstances," this position echoing the city's intention to strenuously defend against the claims, as obtained by South Coast Today; the city's appeal document, forthcoming in a Bristol County Superior Court hearing on Tuesday, contains several points arguing for immunity from claims and dismissal of the plaintiff's charges.
