BY ADRIANA HERNANDEZ
Daily Post Staff Writer
Redwood City police say they have arrested a Belmont police officer on suspicion of rape.
Filipe Gomes, 35, of Redwood City, was arrested on Monday at the Belmont Police Department at 1 Twin Pines Lane, on rape allegations, Redwood City Sgt. Victor Figueroa said.
Officers booked Gomes into the San Mateo County jail. He later was released on $100,000 bailbond.
Gomes allegedly committed the rape while he was off duty, police said, but gave no further details.
Belmont police Lt. Pete Lotti said his department fired Gomes on Wednesday.
Gomes was an officer for less than a year, Lotti said.
At a Belmont City Council meeting on Dec. 10, Police Chief Ken Stenquist introduced Gomes and three other newly hired officers.
Stenquist said Gomes was born in Brazil and was a police officer in the Brazilian Air Force before coming to the United States. He speaks Spanish and Portuguese fluently, Stenquist said. Stenquist said that when Gomes is off duty, he likes to spend his time practicing Jiu-Jitsu and attending church.
City Clerk Jozi Plut administered the oath of office to the four, and family members pinned their badges on to new officers’ uniforms, according to the agenda.
On Wednesday, representatives for the Belmont and Redwood City police did not answer any of the Post’s further questions.
Redwood City police are still investigating the case, Figueroa said.
Gomes will return to San Mateo County Superior Court for an arraignment on May 21.
He never should’ve advanced beyond driving for DoorDash or Uber Eats. BPD’s decision to place public trust in what appears to be a performative hire undermines the integrity of the force. It’s another example of a carefully packaged façade—a wolf in sheep’s clothing—revealing the deeper flaws in prioritizing image over character.
California’s move to allow non-citizens to become police officers feels less like progress and more like bending the rules under the guise of diversity—another example of policy driven by agenda, not principle… Prime example of not to hire non-citizens, plain and simple.
What a naive comment! A few bad seeds should be removed and recruiting should be based on strong standards not bending the rules to hire quickly vacancies and/or looking for diverse hires only to sway public comments.
Unqualified hires need to go in all of the agencies- starting with the sheriff
Don’t categorize ALL law enforcement based on these bad seeds.
Right, because U.S. citizen police officers have never abused women!? Your prejudiced beliefs are showing.
It’s clear you either didn’t read my post carefully or simply chose to ignore the very real concerns I raised. I did not, and would never, paint all law enforcement with a broad brush. I specifically called for the removal of bad actors to preserve the integrity of the profession — a point that somehow completely escaped you.
Lowering hiring standards, bending the rules for the sake of appearances, and hiring non-citizens to enforce laws in this country is not just reckless — it’s unconstitutional and an outright betrayal of the public trust. Law enforcement carries extraordinary authority — up to and including the power to arrest and detain. That authority must only be exercised by those who are full citizens, who were born under and earned the full responsibilities and privileges of this country.
There is no justification — none — for a U.S.-born citizen to be questioned, detained, or arrested by someone who was not even born here, someone who has not earned their place through citizenship. I don’t care if they were sworn in under the Penal Code — the badge means nothing without the bond of citizenship that underpins it.
Frankly, only a complete fool would defend policies that place unproven, non-citizen hires in positions of such immense public trust. Your attempt to dismiss these concerns as “naive” only exposes how little thought you’ve actually given to the consequences.
The standards exist for a reason. Gutting them in the name of political theater is what’s naive — and frankly, dangerous.
… As for you, FM, maybe find a Tesla to key — that probably seems more your speed.
Agree
You don’t know what diversity means. There are several states that have the same policy concerning law enforcement. I can name you ten “American” citizen cops who have committed DV, beaten up, and killed innocent citizens, who were hired by other departments.
Police officer has to be a citizen. 100%. Only country in the world that would do that is dumb.
Facts.
Only in the suicidal western and anglophone countries would you ever see non-citizens in government positions, elected or unelected, let alone policeman. Only country where regular people are driving around with marked election ballots stuffing them into random boxes and others showing up to vote without photo ID. In a normal country, the people would never allow that. There would be riots everywhere.
Disaster. The president was right. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was escaping the same crime from his original country. When he got here, he had no record, so he was hired as diversity, equity, inclusion (dei). OK, so say he’s just “one bad seed” out of millions of unvetted. Alright. The problem is there just seems to be a lot these bad seeds. And with this type of logic, are we saying it’s “OK” if just a “few” bad seeds get hired into positions of authority in our community and go on to commit just a “few” heinous crimes. Things need to change in California. And quite frankly, citizens are getting tired of it. I wonder why the president won all 7 swing states and won by a landslide (just not California)? Why not give these jobs to American born citizens as first priority. That way they can be better background checked and vetted because there are records. Especially law enforcement.
There are several states with the same laws. There are tons of police departments who hire cops with records of DV, unnecessary violence towards civilians. I can name you ten right off the bat.
Just what we need. Rapist cops abusing someone with a mental disorder. He should’ve spent more time in church. At least he was fired.
They deserve to be sealed under concrete, forgotten beneath whatever four walls end up containing them — or better yet, dealt with feet first into the woodchipper.
In recent years there is a frenzy to hire a great volume of particular officers sometimes. The hiring officers may be too slack about requirements etc.
This is not the first incidence and I don’t believe it will be the last
He was a Police Officer in Brazil ..but apparently other countries have different Laws ..who knew right?