Falls officer fired over alleged rape

By Rick Pfeiffer 

Niagara Gazette

(As reposted by Yahoo)

Thu, June 6, 2024 at 11:59 PM EDT·2 min read

Jun. 6—Falls police have confirmed that they have fired a Patrol Division officer currently facing rape charges.

The former officer, Martice D. Porter, 21, of the Falls, was reportedly terminated from the police force in early May. His termination also resulted in his decertification as a law enforcement officer by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services.

Porter had been on paid administrative leave following his arrest in late April on three counts of third-degree rape. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.

After his arrest, Falls police said they had begun an internal departmental investigation of Porter. While it was not immediately clear if that investigation had been completed, Porter was able to be fired without a normally lengthy state civil service hearing because he was still in the probationary period of his employment.

Porter was a graduate of the Niagara County Law Enforcement Academy's 80th Basic Training Class in August 2023. He was a pre-employment enrollee of the academy and was hired shortly after graduation by the Lewiston Police Department.

He transferred to the Falls Police Department in November.

Porter was taken into custody on April 22 by Niagara County Sheriff's Office criminal investigators.

Law enforcement sources said Falls police first received "complaints" about Porter more than a month before his arrest. They said that when it was determined that the alleged crimes occurred in the Town of Niagara, the investigation was shifted to the sheriff's office.

Following the complaints, Porter, who worked as a patrol officer overnights on the C Platoon, was reportedly transferred to "modified duty" and taken off the streets.

Sheriff's investigators said the complaints against Porter involved a juvenile victim and did not take place while he was on duty as a Falls officer. No other details of the allegations against Porter have been released.

In early May, Porter waived his right to a preliminary hearing in Town of Niagara Court to determine if there was sufficient evidence to charge him with a crime. He was released from custody then on $20,000 bail.

Niagara County prosecutors are reportedly weighing whether to present the case to a grand jury.

Porter's next scheduled court date could not immediately be determined.