Fall River police officer accused of beating man in custody with baton, arrested by feds

A Fall Rover Police Officer who is accused of beating a man in custody with a baton was arrested by federal agents Wednesday, United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins Office said.

Nicholas M. Hoar, 35, was indicted on one count of deprivation of rights under color of law and two counts of false reports. Hoar was arrested Wednesday morning and is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston Wednesday afternoon, officials said.

Hoar is accused of striking a man in custody in the head with a baton while on duty Dec. 21, 2020. According to officials, the strike resulted in bodily injury to the man in custody.Read more: Documents that detail Waltham triple murder and possible Tamerlan Tsarnaev connection to be released

The indictment charging Hoar also alleges that, on Dec. 21 and Dec. 22, 2020, Hoar submitted two reports that omitted any mention of the fact that he had struck the man in custody in the forehead with a baton.

The Fall River Police Department issued a release around noon Wednesday stating that upon the departments learning of the complaint against Hoar, he was placed on paid administrative leave.

The department said after meeting with the Bristol County District Attorneys Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, it was determined that the best course of action was to have the FBI conduct the investigation. The department then placed Hoar on unpaid administrative leave.

The department is also conducting its own internal investigation. All information gathered in the investigation will be forwarded to the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission, the department said.

No further information was immediately made available.