Is it April 1st already because the motion to dismiss filed on behalf of former Chief Gomes

must be a joke?! 
First, I will note that the attorneys defending him cannot even seem to spell his first name
correctly, there is only one M in Emanual yet they wrote his name as Emmanual.  Their
dismissal should be rejected on this point alone and any reader should question the
writer's attention to detail. Details are important when considering accountability.
Second, the “No Fix Law” was written specifically to create accountability, not to allow
people to avoid responsibility. To the point the Massachusetts State Police Policy TRF-08
states: "Traffic citations shall be issued in accordance with Policy and Procedure ADM-04
State Police Authority and Massachusetts General Law (MGL) c. 90C." Note the use of the
word “shall”. Issuing a citation (or warning) is not optional just because the driver is a
brother in blue.
The investigating trooper did determine that Gomes was the person that caused the crash
and he has a duty to follow the policy and the law but he is not alone in shirking his
responsibility. That no ticket was issued is a problem for all the troopers, the police and their
supervisors who each have a legal duty to both obey the laws of Massachusetts and to
record violations of traffic laws by issuing a citation. Every one of these people swore an
oath to uphold the law but it appears from the facts that Chief Gomes was given special
treatment.
The motion to dismiss because there was no citation written turns the “No Fix” law on its
head, trying to re-invent the purpose of the law from accountability to special favoritism. If
this case is dismissed for such a ridiculous reason I worry about troopers and police who DO
follow the law, their numbers will surely dwindle and we will be left only with people who
would abuse the power of their badge.
Gomes himself swore an oath to uphold the law and his own department policies. The fact
that he did not do so shows the privilege and unequal justice reserved for such powerful
people in Plymouth county. The Brockton Police Department policy requires that in the
event of an accident involving a department owned vehicle that the vehicle not be moved
until the Commanding Officer of the Brockton Police go to the scene and make an
investigation, but according to city records that was never done. The Brockton Police
Department policy requires that the officer involved in a crash shall promptly submit a
written report, but according to city records that was never done. According to a sworn
affidavit from a record keeper at the RMV Gomes never even filed the required crash report
with the state which act, alone, should cause Gomes to lose his license but for the egregious
lack of accountability at all levels in this matter.
Third, the fact that his defense lawyers seem to want to blame a citizen who was not even at
the crash scene for the crisis Gomes finds himself in is a red herring. Even if I did hold a
grudge against a person I have never spoken with or met until his day in court, that has no
bearing on his own actions on May 15th, 2021 when he destroyed city property by driving it
through two cars and into the trees. For the record I hold no grudge against Emanual
Gomes.
Finally, I am hopeful that one day we might read a story of accountability which places the
blame where it belongs: Squarely upon the shoulders of the city elders. The Mayor Robert
Sullivan and the entire City Council under Winthrop Farwell were notified of the crash and
the fact that Gomes destroyed city property and hurt citizens while failing to follow any of
the written policy. I contacted all the elected leaders last year to question why none of them
had done anything to investigate the facts or even mentioned it to the public yet still, today,
none of them have done anything to hold anyone to account. Worse, in recent news reports
the current council president Jack Lally claimed he'd never been made aware of this and
Mayor Robert Sullivan claimed he did everything required of his office - but neither did
anything at all per city records.
I call upon the people to reach out to their elected officials and ask why they have done
nothing to account for the destroyed public property, the injured victims and the fact that
their silence on the matter smells like a coverup. Failing to get any favorable answer it is
time to recall these elected officials and replace them with people who care about the
citizens, the community and equal justice under the law.