Former New Bedford Fire Chief Killed After Shooting Police Officer: DA

FAIRHAVEN, MA — The former interim fire chief in New Bedford was killed Friday night and a police officer injured during an incident at a bar in Fairhaven, authorities confirmed Saturday.

The Fairhaven Police Department on Saturday said officers were called to a business on Sconticut Neck Road about 5 p.m. for a report of an intoxicated man. The address police gave is for Bayside Lounge.

Fairhaven police and officers from surrounding communities responded, and according to the statement from the police department, "shots were later exchanged between the man and officers," killing the man and injuring an officer.

The wounded officer was taken to an area hospital for treatment, police said.

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn identified the man as Paul Coderre, 55, of Dartmouth, the former interim chief of the New Bedford Fire Company, during a late-night news conference, according to media reports.

The Boston Globe reported the police officer who was injured was from Acushnet, and had been shot in the leg.

Coderre got into an argument and tried to drive home from the bar but someone stopped him because he was intoxicated, NBC10 Boston reported.

Quinn said police tried to calm him down and used a Taser to try to subdue him, but then he fired his gun at police, the NBC10 report said.

Coderre had recently won an appeal of his 2022 firing as the fire chief in New Bedford, South Coast Today reported.

The shooting is under investigation by the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office, Fairhaven police said.