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Joshua Heal, a former Abington school resource officer, met Birchmore when she was an adult and allegedly had a sexual relationship with her.
Two women hold a banner reading “Justice for Sandra Birchmore and her baby!” » in front of the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse. Pat Greenhouse/Boston Globe staff)
A former Abington police officer who allegedly had a sexual relationship with Sandra Birchmore could be decertified by a state watchdog, the town’s police chief confirmed.
Abington Police Chief John Bonney, who joined the Stoughton Police Department in August, said he would recommend the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, or POST, to decertify Joshua Heal.
Heal, a former school resource officer, was named in an internal investigation at Stoughton after Birchmore’s death, Boston 25 News first reported.
Birchmore was 23 and pregnant when she was found dead in her Canton apartment in 2021. Investigators initially ruled it a suicide. Instead, former Stoughton police officer Matthew Farwell, who had begun having sex with her since she was 15, allegedly killed her and faked her death as a suicide, according to a court filing. federal indictment.
Three former Stoughton officers, including Farwell, are named as defendants in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Birchmore’s estate, alleging that each officer treated Birchmore, initially as part of a young explorer program with the department that she joined at the age of 13. filed suit as a defendant in 2023, but those charges were dismissed a year later.
Heal’s attorney, Pete Farrell, said Heal was a material witness and was cooperating with an ongoing federal investigation. He said last week that Heal had not been informed by POST that he might be decertified.
“The allegations are allegations, and it is speculative at best to suggest that Mr. Heal could be decertified,” Farrell told Boston.com in a statement. “The Court made specific factual findings. These findings speak for themselves and form part of the Court’s record. These facts reveal that Mr. Heal and Ms. Birchmore were friends and met when they were both adults.
Court records: Heal met Birchmore when they were adults
Heal worked as an animal control officer for the city of Stoughton from 2016 until 2020, when he resigned to enroll in the police academy, according to court documents. He met Birchmore around 2016 when she came to adopt a cat from the shelter.
“Defendant Heal admitted to receiving oral sex from Ms. Birchmore on at least one known occasion,” according to court documents. “Heal admitted that he and Ms. Birchmore were close friends during an interview with investigators.”
Birchmore and Heal did not know each other when she was a minor, according to court records, but his estate argued in the wrongful death lawsuit that he abused his position of power over “a vulnerable young adult.” He also allegedly had “significant and detailed knowledge of the sexual abuse” and knew that Farwell was tracking Birchmore’s phone, records show.
“Heal owed Ms. Birchmore a duty to protect her from the abusive and grooming behaviors exhibited by Mr. Farwell, W. Farwell, and Devine, and to refrain from exploiting her status as an animal control officer to obtain contact sexual relations with Ms. Birchmore,” the complaint states.
According to POST, Heal resigned from his position with the Abington Police Department “in lieu of disciplinary action.” He is now certified as a non-associate officer; its certification expires July 1, 2025.
Farwell’s twin brother and former Stoughton officer, William Farwell, was decertified by POST last month. Robert Devine, who also allegedly had an inappropriate relationship with Birchmore, is listed as “uncertified” by the POST commission.
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