FALL RIVER — Many of the city’s elected officials and state legislators gathered Monday to sing the praises of the Fall River Police Department as part of an ongoing review to update the department’s accreditation with the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement.

Participating auditors told The Herald News that the review process, which evaluates a department’s best practices according to national standards, could touch upon the 15 criminal charges filed against suspended Fall River police officer Michael Pessoa, but one auditor said the focus will primarily be on the department’s handling of the indictments.

Jacqui Boykin, a captain in the Knightdale, North Carolina, police department and one of the review’s two auditors, said the inquiry would not delve into any specific ongoing investigations unless an allegation surfaces that officers were not following department policy.

“Our job is to ensure they are following the best practices," Boykin said. "In a situation like (Pessoa’s), the best practice is ensuring there is due process for the officer and an investigation takes place. We may make an inquiry about the incident so far as to see if there is an investigation ongoing, but we would not get into the nitty-gritty of the incident or that officer himself.”

Pessoa, a 17-year veteran of the department, was suspended without pay June 27, the same day he was indicted on felony charges including aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, civil rights violations with bodily injury, witness intimidation and filing false police reports. All 15 charges are connected to Pessoa’s interactions with members of the public he allegedly assaulted while serving as a Fall River police officer.

Despite the recent negative attention the department received, Monday’s meeting, billed as an on-site assessment and public information session, was almost entirely devoted to praising the department’s work within the community. Mayor Jasiel Correia, Rep. Carole Fiola, Rep. Alan Silvia, and Fall River Public Schools Superintendent Matthew Malone spoke at length about how the department has gone above and beyond to foster positive relationships with city residents, students and officials.

The only speaker to mention any controversy was School Committee member and mayoral candidate Paul Coogan, who alluded to the 2017 fatal police shooting of a 19-year-old man in the city’s industrial park and a widely circulated video from the spring of two officers removing a student from Resiliency Preparatory Academy.

Referring to the video, which attracted accusations of excessive force from some members of the public, Coogan said: “It got big play on YouTube. A little bubble up, but (the officers) were back at work the next day and the day after because they have that respect from the community.”

Coogan later added: “I think those two instances speak volumes to what’s going on – not just to the excellent leadership in the department, but the climate that’s been created.”

Correia noted the growing stresses of serving as a police officer and complimented the city’s law enforcement for promoting community policing. He specifically mentioned Project Reconnect, an ongoing initiative within the department that has officers regularly check in on city residents who have survived opioid overdoses.

“All those things take creativity. They’re not automatic. They aren’t the average things every department does,” Correia said. “I can’t say enough good things. I could stay here all night and say more.”

The Fall River Police Department has been accredited through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement every three years since 2009 and, according to department accreditation manager Sgt. J.T. Hoar, is one of three departments in Massachusetts accredited through the organization.

“It really just puts more trust in the police department because we’re set to some standards that are nationally accredited,” Hoar said. “Policies and procedures are not only reviewed internally but they’re reviewed by an outside agency to confirm we’re doing things consistently each and every time.”

Hoar said accreditation would be especially beneficial if the department were ever sued.

“In any civil litigation, they look at the policies that were followed," Hoar said. "If we were outside of those policies, then obviously there would be issues with liability there, but if you're within the four corners of that policy then you’re protected. As long as that officer followed those rules, they’re usually pretty good.”

Monday’s meeting was predominantly attended by city and elected officials, but some representatives of Fall River’s various neighborhood groups were present.

Maplewood neighborhood resident Earle Gaudette described the attentiveness of officers at community outreach meetings and complimented their willingness to work one-on-one with residents to address their concerns.

“We’re a close-knit neighborhood, but we accept them as one of our own. We love them as one of our own," he said of the city's officers. "There is never a problem in my community that has never been solved.”

Auditors reviewing the Fall River Police Department described Monday as one of the best-attended hearings they had seen.

“The outpouring of support from every level of the community was impressive, very impressive,” said Joseph Race, a police captain in Madison, Connecticut.

The department’s review was expected to conclude Wednesday.

Contact Peter Jasinski at pjasinski@heraldnews.com.