FALL RIVER — The Fall River Police Department announced that Chief Jeffrey Cardoza is going on extended leave and that an acting chief has been named in his place.

In a release Tuesday, it was announced that Chief Cardoza (pictured above next to Mayor Paul Coogan) had gone on “extended leave for health-related reasons” on December 6, and that it “will continue until his anticipated retirement in March 2022.”

Captain Paul Gauvin will be sworn in today as acting chief, and a committee will be assembled to begin the search for the next permanent chief. Gauvin has been part of the Fall River Police Department for over 24 years, serving in the Vice and Intelligence Unit, Staff Services, Professional Standards, Major Crimes Division, and as a Uniform Division Watch Commander.

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“Chief Jeffrey Cardoza has acted admirably over the last year and a half as Chief of Police. His leadership made significant positive changes to the force, while overseeing the department’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and several other unexpected roadblocks,” Mayor Paul Coogan said.

“On behalf of the City, I thank him for his years of service to the Police Department and to our residents,” Coogan continued. “While we are sad to see his departure, he has left the Fall River Police Department in a better place and we look forward to working with the Acting Chief to continue the progress he has made.”

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