The Cohasset Police Department has a Civil Rights officer. Detective Lieutenant Michael Lopes is designated as the Civil Rights Officer. Lieutenant Lopes can be reached by phone or email. The Civil Rights Officer/Hate Crimes Officer will serve as a community liaison and participate in outreach, review incident reports on hate crimes, and serve as a subject matter expert to the department on the issue of hate crimes. The Hate Crimes Officers will ensure hate crime data is transparently reported, publicly available, and easily accessible to ensure the public’s confidence in law enforcement’s response to hate incidents. Based on Mandate’s set forward in Massachusetts, all reported Hate Crimes will be investigated when reported and forwarded to the Civil Rights officer to assist or follow-up on preliminary investigation. For more information on how this officer can help, please contact our Hate Crimes Officer.

A hate crime is any attempted or actual criminal act, as defined by state statute, perpetrated on a person or persons, due to the victims actual or perceived race, color, creed, ancestry, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability or gender.

The following are examples of hate crimes:

  • Criminal acts which inflict injury regardless of severity.
  • Threats of bodily harm or violence that look like they can be carried out.
  • Criminal acts which result in property damage.
  • Any criminal act or attempted criminal act directed against public or private agencies, schools, churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, or religious institutions.

Massachusetts Hate Crime Statistics (https://masscrime.chs.state.ma.us/tops/)

Hate incidents are non-criminal actions by any person or group, directed toward the person or property of another, due to a victim’s race, color, creed, ancestry, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability or gender. The following are examples of hate incidents:

  • The circulation of offensive printed material, handwritten material, or drawings placed on lawns, porches, stairways, automobiles, vestibules or in mailboxes.
  • Offensive communication from one person to another such as insults, jeers, signs, and body language that does not constitute a criminal act.

If you believe you have been a victim of a hate crime:

  • Emergencies should immediately be reported by dialing 911
  • Call (781) 383- 1055 to report an incident to an officer
  • Reported incidents involving a potential hate crime will be forwarded to our Civil Rights Officer.
  • Our department’s Civil Rights Officer may be reached via email  (mlopes@cohassetpolice.com) or by calling (781) 383-1055 ext. 6107

Detective Lieutenant Lopes can be reached via email at mlopes@cohassetpolice.com or by submitting the form below.