Falmouth Police Department

10/23/2026

🎓 Congratulations to Falmouth's Newest Police Officers! 🚔

The Falmouth Police Department is proud to announce that Officer Marvell Nicholson and Officer Gates Kelliher graduated last night from the Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC) Marlborough Police Academy's 2nd Recruit Officer Class!

Both officers are graduates of Falmouth High School - Massachusetts, where they excelled academically and athletically. We are especially proud to welcome these two hometown officers back to serve the community where they grew up.

Officer Marvell Nicholson attended Bridgewater State University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Marketing while playing collegiate football. In addition to his academic and athletic accomplishments, Officer Nicholson has proudly served in the United States Marine Corps since 2021 as an infantry rifleman.

Officer Gates Kelliher attended American International College, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Business Management with a minor in Psychology while also playing collegiate football. Prior to joining the Falmouth Police Department, Officer Kelliher worked for the Falmouth Water Department.

Since June, they have endured a daily commute of approximately an hour and a half to attend the academy, all while meeting the demanding physical, academic, and practical requirements of police training.

🏆 Their hard work and commitment were recognized with several prestigious honors at graduation.

🇺🇸 Officer Nicholson – Class Guidon Bearer & Top Gun Award

Officer Nicholson was selected to serve as his class's Guidon Bearer, a position of honor and responsibility. The guidon is the flag representing the identity, unity, and pride of a unit. Being entrusted to carry it symbolizes leadership, discipline, professionalism, and the respect of one's peers and instructors.

Officer Nicholson was also awarded the academy's Top Gun Award, recognizing the recruit who achieved the highest fi****ms qualification score at the conclusion of the academy's intensive two-week fi****ms training program.

💙 Officer Kelliher – Officer Ronald Tarentino Jr. Award

Officer Kelliher received the Officer Ronald Tarentino Jr. Award, an especially meaningful honor presented by Officer Tarentino's parents and sister during the graduation ceremony.

Officer Tarentino, a police officer in Auburn, Massachusetts, was tragically killed in the line of duty in 2016. His family continues to honor his legacy through a charitable foundation dedicated to the values he embodied: Acts of Kindness, Acts of Generosity, and Service to the Community.

Officer Kelliher was selected for this award in recognition of his character and commitment to these values.

Both officers will report to the Falmouth Police Department on Monday to begin their initial departmental training and Field Training Program, where they will continue developing the skills necessary to serve our community.

Please join us in congratulating Officers Nicholson and Kelliher on their graduation and outstanding achievements!

10/22/2026

🐾 K9 Renata and K9 Officer DeVito: Keeping Our Community Safe! 🐾

While many people see K9 Renata out and about in the community, she and her handler, K9 Officer DeVito, have been putting in some important work behind the scenes to help keep our community safe!

Recently, the team swept the Cape Cod Marathon, Half Marathon, and 5K for explosives and fi****ms, helping protect just over 4,000 runners, along with the spectators who came out to cheer them on. 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

Their work doesn’t stop there! K9 Renata and Officer DeVito also play an integral role in security at the Falmouth Road Race and aboard the Steamship Authority ferries departing Woods Hole, helping provide a safer environment for the thousands of people who attend these events and travel through our community.

These assignments require specialized training, dedication, and teamwork. While the crowds enjoy race day or head off to the Islands, Renata and Officer DeVito are hard at work making sure security remains a priority.

Please join us in recognizing K9 Renata and K9 Officer DeVito for their continued commitment to keeping Falmouth and the surrounding community safe! 🐕‍🦺💙

10/22/2026

Today, we presented Cops For Kids With Cancer with the final check from our charity gala held in May, bringing our total donation to an incredible $19,000 after all event expenses! 🎗️💙

This would not have been possible without the generosity and support of so many people and businesses in our community.

A special thank you to our incredible gala sponsors:

Gold Sponsor: Falmouth Road Race

Silver Sponsors: Cape Save and Bands for Badges

Bronze Sponsors: Southeastern Massachusetts Police Chiefs Association, Braga Bros, M&N Auto Repairs, BJH Investments, BLK Pro Detail, and Kyle Murphy.

We would also like to extend a huge thank you to The Sea Crest for allowing us to host our event at their beautiful venue at a discounted rate and for all the support they provided throughout the process.

Thank you to The Salty Florist for the amazing centerpieces, Hannoush Jewelers for donating the prize for our Heads or Tails game, Straight From The Cape Entertainment for providing the photo booth and music, DJ Tundra for keeping the evening running smoothly as our MC, and Locked On Balloons for the incredible balloon arch and backdrop that helped make the event look amazing.

We are also grateful to every business and individual who donated items for our auction, as well as everyone who attended the gala, purchased tickets, made donations, sponsored the event, or helped behind the scenes.

Every contribution, big or small, played a part in making this donation possible.

Together, we were able to raise $19,000 for Cops For Kids With Cancer, an incredible organization dedicated to helping families facing the challenges of childhood cancer.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this event a success and showed what a difference a community can make! 💙

10/21/2026

10/18/2026

This morning K9 Officer DeVito, K9 Officer Lawler, Officer Rose and Officer Croft all attended the K9 Heroes awards ceremony and ran in a charity 5K to raise money for the K9 PTSD Center. We are proud to say that K9 Officer Lawler came in first place overall out of 180 runners and Officer Croft won first place in the women’s division. Great job to all the runners and all the amazing K9 handlers and K9’s that received awards! If you haven’t heard of the K9 PTSD Center, click the following link to find out more about the incredible work they do: https://k9ptsd.org

10/16/2026

🚔🐕‍🦺 October 5th: Falmouth Police officers responded to a motor vehicle crash where at least one vehicle needed to be towed. When police tows are conducted, officers are required to do a motor vehicle inventory prior to the vehicle being towed. During the inventory, suspected narcotics were located so officers on scene requested a K9 respond to assist.

K9 Officer Lawler and K9 Kepo, a Falmouth Police K9 trained in narcotics detection, conducted a free-air sniff of the vehicle. K9 Kepo’s alert led to the seizure of approximately 20 grams of suspected narcotics.

This incident highlights the important role police K9s play in law enforcement. K9s like Kepo provide officers with an additional resource to help detect suspected narcotics and support investigations. Their specialized training and keen sense of smell are valuable tools that assist officers in carrying out their duties and keeping the community safe.

🚔🐕‍🦺 October 9th: Falmouth Police officers responded to a wooded area behind Pinyon Way to search for a woman who reported suffering from a medical emergency and was unable to find her way out of the woods. The woman had been stranded overnight.

K9 Officer DeVito, Officer Cannistraro, K9 Officer Lawler and K9 Kepo, who is trained in Friendly Find searches to locate missing individuals, began tracking in an effort to find the woman. The K9 track covered approximately five miles. Officer Fusaro later responded with the department’s drone, and the officers all worked together to narrow down her location.

K9 Kepo helped point officers in the right direction, allowing them to use the drone to make voice announcements into the wooded area. The woman was able to hear the announcements and communicate with a Falmouth Emergency Communications dispatcher, who helped guide officers to her location. Thanks to the coordinated efforts of everyone involved, the woman was located and brought to safety.

This incident is a great example of how K9s and drones can work together to help locate missing people. K9s like Kepo use their training and sense of smell to track individuals in areas that can be difficult to search, while drones give officers another way to cover ground and communicate with someone who may be out of sight or unable to find their way back. In this case, having both resources available and getting them into the field quickly made a real difference.

The Falmouth Police Department would like to thank Falmouth Emergency Communications, Falmouth Fire and Rescue, the Barnstable County Technical Rescue Team, and everyone else who assisted with the search.

Teamwork, communication, and the quick deployment of specialized resources were instrumental in bringing this woman to safety. We are proud of everyone who played a role in this successful outcome and grateful for the dedication and cooperation of all those involved.

10/15/2026

Falmouth Police Department Welcomes New Officer

The Falmouth Police Department is pleased to announce the addition of Officer Kevin Fernandes to our department. Officer Fernandes was officially sworn in this week by Town Clerk Elizabeth Magauran and has begun the department’s Field Training Program.

A Cape Cod native, Officer Fernandes joins the Falmouth Police Department after more than 22 years of service with the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office, where he began his career in 2004. Most recently, he served as an Assistant Deputy Superintendent (Major), overseeing multiple specialized and tactical units, including the K9 Unit.

Officer Fernandes has also served as the Team Leader of the Cape Cod Regional Law Enforcement Council’s Crisis Negotiation Team. In this role, he has responded to numerous critical incidents in Falmouth.

In addition to his extensive leadership and tactical experience, Officer Fernandes has experience in search and rescue, drone operations, mountain bike patrol, and ATV operations.

Officer Fernandes brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and specialized training to the Falmouth Police Department. We are fortunate that he has chosen to continue his law enforcement career serving the Falmouth community.

Please join us in welcoming Officer Fernandes to the Falmouth Police Department!

10/15/2026

🚨 NOW HIRING – LATERAL POLICE OFFICERS! 🚨

The Falmouth Police Department is seeking experienced, certified police officers to join our team!

We offer competitive pay, full Quinn Bill educational incentives, specialty assignments, and opportunities for career advancement.

10/15/2026

Unfortunately we have to once again postpone the open house due to the weather forecast. We hope to see everyone this spring and are crossing our fingers for better luck with the weather… third time’s a charm right?