Another officer connected to Sandra Birchmore might be decertified

A former Abington police officer who allegedly had a sexual relationship with Sandra Birchmore may be decertified by a state watchdog organization, the town’s police chief confirmed.

Abington Police Chief John Bonney, who joined the department from the Stoughton Police Department in August, said he will be recommending the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, or POST, to decertify Joshua Heal.

Heal, a former school resource officer, was named in an internal investigation in Stoughton following 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 her death a suicide. Instead, former Stoughton police officer Matthew Farwell, who began having sex with her since she was 15, allegedly killed her and staged her death to appear as a suicide, according to a federal indictment.

Three former Stoughton officers, including Farwell, are named as defendants in a wrongful death suit filed by Birchmore’s estate, alleging that each officer groomed Birchmore, initially through a youth explorers program with the department that she joined at age 13. Heal was named in that suit as a defendant in 2023, but those charges were dismissed a year later.

Heal’s lawyer Pete Farrell said Heal is a material witness and cooperating in an ongoing federal investigation. He said last week that Heal hasn’t been notified by POST that he might be decertified.

“Allegations are allegations, and it is speculative at best to suggest that Mr. Heal may be decertified,”  Farrell told Boston.com in a statement. “The Court made specific factual findings. Those findings speak for themselves and are a part of the Court record. These facts reveal Mr. Heal and Ms. Birchmore were friends and met while both were adults.”

Court records: Heal met Birchmore when they were adults

Heal worked as an animal control officer for the Town of Stoughton from 2016 to 2020, when he resigned to enroll in the police academy, according to court docs. He met Birchmore around 2016 when she came to adopt a cat from the shelter. 

“Defendant Heal admitted he received oral sex from Ms. Birchmore on at least one known occasion,” according to court documents. “Heal conceded he and Ms. Birchmore were close friends in an interview with investigators.”

Birchmore and Heal didn’t know each other when she was a minor, according to court records, but her estate argued in the wrongful death suit 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, according to records.

“Heal owed Ms. Birchmore a duty to protect her from abusive and grooming behaviors exhibited by M. Farwell, W. Farwell, and Devine, and to refrain from exploiting his status as the Animal Control Officer to obtain sexual contact with Ms. Birchmore,” the complaint said.

According to POST, Heal resigned from his role with the Abington Police Department “in lieu of discipline.” He is now certified as an unassociated officer; his certification expires on 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 “not certified” by the POST Commission.

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Molly Farrar is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on education, politics, crime, and more.

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