Justin Chappell: Arrest, Decertification, and Federal Sentence

Justin Chappell, a former Weymouth, Massachusetts police officer, pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights felony after body-worn camera footage showed him punching a handcuffed man roughly 13 times in the face and head during a 2022 arrest. He resigned days before a scheduled termination hearing, was permanently decertified in Massachusetts, and on July 16, 2024 was sentenced to two years of supervised release, including six months of home confinement and 80 hours of community service. He received no prison term.¹

What Happened During the July 2022 Arrest

On the evening of July 2, 2022, Chappell and other Weymouth patrol officers responded to a report of an intoxicated man, Donald McAdam, causing a disturbance at a home in Weymouth. Officers said McAdam was uncooperative, resisted arrest, and spit on an officer. He was taken into custody after what police described as a struggle.²

Once McAdam was handcuffed and officers were placing him into a cruiser, Chappell punched him approximately 13 times in the face and head with a closed fist. Federal prosecutors later described the blows as causing “obvious pain and visible injuries.”¹

How the Body Camera Footage Contradicted His Report

In his arrest report, Chappell characterized the strikes as “four to five distraction techniques” delivered to “gain compliance.” Body camera and cruiser camera footage showed a different count and a different incident.³

Weymouth had rolled out body-worn cameras in the summer of 2021, roughly a year earlier. Department policy required a supervisor to review the footage after any use-of-force incident, and that review opened an internal affairs investigation. Chief Richard Fuller later concluded that while McAdam had resisted and spit on officers, several of Chappell’s strikes were “unnecessary and improper” and amounted to excessive force. Fuller said Chappell “has been held accountable for his actions in large part due to body-worn camera footage,” and reporting indicates it was the first time the chief moved to fire an officer based on body camera evidence.⁴⁵

Prior Discipline in 2022

The McAdam arrest was not Chappell’s first disciplinary matter that year.

In January 2022, while off duty and intoxicated at a convenience store in Stoughton, Massachusetts, Chappell was placed in protective custody by Stoughton police, who reported he was “defiant, uncooperative and argumentative.” He received a written warning for conduct unbecoming of an officer.⁶
In February 2022, during the arrest of a suspect accused of receiving a stolen vehicle, Chappell punched the suspect twice in the head and labeled the blows “distraction techniques” in a use-of-force report submitted six days late. Department officials found the strikes fell outside policy, noting that “distraction techniques differ from strikes based on the intent, intensity, and location they are delivered.” He received a one-day suspension.⁷
In June 2022, he received a verbal warning over an improper call log.⁷

The February incident mattered later. The Massachusetts POST Commission cited both the February and July 2022 uses of force as grounds for revoking his certification.⁸

Resignation and Decertification

A termination hearing was scheduled for July 14, 2022. Chappell resigned on July 11, three days before the hearing. He had served six years with the Weymouth Police Department and was an Army veteran.⁷

In October 2022, Chief Fuller formally recommended that the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission decertify him. The commission’s Division of Police Standards was authorized to investigate in March 2023. On January 23, 2024, the POST Commission issued its final decision revoking Chappell’s certification, finding that his conduct in the February and July 2022 incidents rendered him “unfit for duty as a police officer and dangerous to the public.” Chappell did not respond to or contest the proceedings. The revocation permanently bars him from working as a police officer in Massachusetts.⁸⁵

Federal Charge, Guilty Plea, and Sentence

On April 3, 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts filed a felony information charging Chappell with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law under 18 U.S.C. § 242. The statute makes it a federal crime for a person acting under government authority to willfully deprive someone of constitutional rights, and it carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison when the offense results in bodily injury.⁹

On April 23, 2024, Chappell, then 43, pleaded guilty. He admitted punching McAdam approximately 13 times “without legal justification” while McAdam was handcuffed.¹⁰

On July 16, 2024, U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs sentenced him to two years of supervised release, including six months of home confinement and 80 hours of community service split at 40 hours per year. He received no prison term. The case, United States v. Chappell (1:24-cr-10081), was terminated the same day, and a satisfaction of judgment was filed on December 4, 2024.²⁹

1
U.S. Department of Justice. Former Weymouth Police Officer Sentenced for Assaulting Man During Arrest
2
NBC Boston. Ex-Weymouth Police Officer Sentenced for Punching Man in Custody 13 Times
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WCVB. Officer Justin Chappell Weymouth Use of Force Body Camera
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NBC Boston. Former Weymouth Police Officer Accused of Excessive Force in Incident Caught on Body Camera Footage
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The Patriot Ledger. Weymouth Police Officer Charged With Brutality, Banned
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The Patriot Ledger. Justin Chappell Weymouth Police Body Cam Punched Man
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Boston.com. Weymouth Police Chief Recommends Ex-Officer Be Decertified for Excessive Use of Force
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Massachusetts POST Commission. Chappell
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CourtListener. United States v. Chappell
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WHDH. Former Weymouth Officer Pleads Guilty to Rights Violation in Connection With Rough 2022 Arrest