State police standards officials suspended his certification the same day he resigned, and two other officers were disciplined in a related internal case.
LOWELL, MA — A Lowell police officer resigned in November after an internal investigation examined allegations he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old he first encountered during a mental health call, according to records and statements. The Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission also moved to suspend his certification that day.
The case centers on former officer Dylan DaSilva, 32, who joined the department in 2023 and left on Nov. 20. While the age of consent in Massachusetts is 16, officials said the way DaSilva met the teen, and her documented behavioral health history, raised serious ethical concerns and potential policy violations. The department has declined to release its investigative files, citing privacy laws. The matter has widened to include discipline for two additional officers accused of mishandling evidence and documentation tied to the case. State overseers and the Secretary of State’s records office are now involved in decisions about what, if any, documents can be made public.
According to department statements, DaSilva abruptly resigned on Nov. 20, the same day the state POST Commission suspended his authority to serve as a police officer. Multiple sources say the officer was investigated for having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl he met on duty when she was in crisis care. A woman who answered the door at DaSilva’s home declined to comment on his behalf. The Lowell Police Department publicly acknowledged in late November that a member had departed after violating “numerous policies,” but it has not released reports, body camera footage, or internal affairs files from the case. “We are firmly committed to protecting the privacy of this individual, who is not a police officer,” Deputy Superintendent Mark LeBlanc wrote in an email.
Superintendent Greg Hudon said the department acted quickly once commanders learned of the allegations. “We take any and all allegations of misconduct very seriously and took immediate action when our Command Staff was made aware of these allegations,” Hudon said in a written statement, adding the department holds officers to “the highest standards of ethics and integrity.” Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, criticized the decision to keep the underlying records secret. “This isn’t just about police transparency. This is also about our weak, if not broken, public records law,” Silverman said, urging officials to release what can be disclosed under state exemptions. Lowell police maintain that releasing even redacted reports could expose protected personal information under Massachusetts law.
The internal fallout reached beyond DaSilva. On Oct. 3, 2025, internal affairs investigators found that two other officers failed to properly follow policy, including efforts to conceal or omit references to DaSilva’s relationship in body camera video and paperwork, according to sources familiar with the case. The department said those officers received deferred six-month suspensions and 30 “punishment days” to be served. The department forwarded its full findings to the state POST Commission in October 2025 for outside review. POST, created to certify officers and enforce conduct standards statewide, can suspend or revoke an officer’s certification independent of employment status and can order agencies to complete probes even when employees resign.
The transparency dispute has now drawn the attention of the Secretary of State’s office, which oversees public records appeals. Supervisor of Records Manza Arthur directed the department to provide an unredacted copy of the documents to his office for a confidential review to determine what can be released. That process, common in sensitive cases involving minors or vulnerable people, can take weeks as lawyers weigh privacy protections against the public’s interest in oversight. Lowell police argue a specific exemption applies to the teen’s medical and personal information; open-government advocates counter that law enforcement agencies can and should redact names, addresses, and clinical details while making investigative steps and timelines public.
Lowell has faced scrutiny of police practices in recent years as Massachusetts continues to implement statewide accountability reforms passed in 2020. Those reforms created POST and set uniform training and decertification powers that did not exist previously. Under the law, an officer who resigns while under investigation can still face certification action, ensuring the case follows them if they seek another job in law enforcement. In this matter, POST’s Nov. 20 suspension effectively prevents DaSilva from working as a certified police officer in Massachusetts unless the suspension is lifted after review. The department’s discipline for the two other officers, though deferred, remains on their records and may factor into any future internal evaluations or promotions.
Officials have not announced any criminal charges. Police have not named the teen or described her condition, citing privacy rules and her status as a non-employee. It remains unknown whether any outside police agency or prosecutor is conducting a parallel criminal inquiry. The city has not detailed whether a municipal human resources review occurred alongside internal affairs. If POST moves from a temporary action to a final sanction, the Commission could post a summary of its decision on the state’s officer database; that step would follow any hearings and appeals and could come later this year if deadlines are met. Records officials said they will determine next steps after reviewing the department’s unredacted file.
Neighbors near Lowell police headquarters described steady media activity in recent days. One resident said camera crews gathered around shift changes. “People are upset, but mostly they want the truth,” said Thomas Nguyen, who lives a few blocks away and walked past cruisers idling at the lot. Outside City Hall, a mother who said she has a son in high school called the case “disturbing,” adding that she hopes “the system doesn’t just close ranks.” An officer leaving the station declined to comment. The department has not scheduled a public briefing but said it would respond to formal records rulings when issued.
As of Thursday, the department’s records are under review by the state records supervisor, and POST’s suspension of DaSilva remains in effect. The city has not set a date for any public update. The next expected milestone is a records ruling from the Secretary of State’s office in the coming weeks.
Author note: Last updated February 5, 2026.