POST to review discipline for brother of William Farwell

Farwell, 38, is the twin brother of Matthew G. Farwell, a former Stoughton police detective who is accused of strangling a pregnant Birchmore, 23, on Feb. 1, 2021, and then staging her body and apartment to make her death look like a suicide. Federal prosecutors allege Matthew Farwell, a married father, killed Birchmore so she couldn’t disclose that he committed statutory rape against her when she was 15, and that during her adulthood they sometimes met for sex while he was on the clock as a police officer . He has pleaded not guilty.

William Farwell hasn’t been charged with any crimes. He resigned as a Stoughton police officer in August 2022 while he faced a pending internal affairs investigation. Birchmore’s estate has brought a wrongful death lawsuit against him, Matthew Farwell, and their mentor, Robert C. Devine, a former deputy police chief in Stoughton. All three deny the allegations in the civil litigation.

Birchmore met the Farwell brothers and Devine, 52, after she enrolled in a Stoughton Police Department youth program when she was 12. Matthew and William Farwell were adult instructors with the program, which was directed by Devine from 2002 to 2014.

The commissioners are expected to consider William Farwell’s case during an executive session, according to the meeting agenda. The agenda listed matters being considered for settlement agreements by case numbers, which the Globe matched to commission records for William Farwell.

On Tuesday, a POST declined to specify whether the agency are being asked to approve an agreement to strip William Farwell of his law enforcement certification or suspend it because the matter is being discussed in private.

Farwell, who purchased a home last year in Rio Ranch, NM, didn’t respond Tuesday to an email seeking comment. He joined the Arizona National Guard, an agency spokesperson told the Globe in July.

Attorney David Bae, who represented Farwell in commission proceedings, said Tuesday he wasn’t authorized to comment.

The commission’s accusations against William Farwell concern some of his interactions with Birchmore and other alleged misconduct. The agency alleges William Farwell exchanged “sexually graphic text messages” and videos with Birchmore between April and December of 2020, when she was 22 and 23 years old, records show.

He is also accused of lying to State Police investigators looking into Birchmore’s death about the extent of his interactions with her. William Farwell allegedly told troopers he last saw Birchmore in December 2020, though investigators found text messages indicating he met her for sex in January 2021, commission records show.

The commission also accused him of improperly searching for Birchmore and himself in a state law enforcement database “without any official law enforcement purpose.”

In March, the commission approved an agreement that prohibited Matthew Farwell from working in law enforcement in Massachusetts and added him to a national database of sanctioned officers.

The commission is also seeking to strip or suspend Devine’s authority to work in law enforcement. The matter is pending.

Laura Crimaldi can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @lauracrimaldi.