BOSTON -- A local police officer has been fired for allegedly texting a photograph of male genitalia to a woman over the summer, according to town officials.

Falmouth Town Manager Robert Whritenour said he fired Officer Michael Gonsalves, 40, after an independent third-party investigator gave Whritenour a report on the incident and recommended termination.

Whritenour declined to release the report or any details, saying it was a personnel matter.

"I can confirm [Gonsalves] was terminated from employment with the police department, effective [Tuesday]," Whritenour told the Cape Cod Times.

Gonsalves was an 18-year veteran of the Police Department. He had been on paid administrative leave since Aug. 4, according to town records.

Gonsalves told the Times in August he did text a photo of male genitalia to a woman, but said it was a joke, according to the paper. He also said "it was not a photo of me naked or any of my body parts," the Times reported.

The woman's claims against Gonsalves came shortly after Falmouth police made headlines across the country for charging six teenagers with child pornography following a "sexting" incident. The teens had distributed semi-nude pictures of a female classmate using cell phones.

According to police records, the sexting accusation against Gonsalves was not the first instance where disciplinary action was taken against him.

In 2005, the officer was suspended for two days after getting into a screaming match with a fellow officer, police records showed.

Over the summer, Gonsalves filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination because he was passed over for a detective position. He claimed in the complaint that he was passed over as retaliation for information he provided during an internal investigation and because he is black.

The hearing officer assigned to the investigation took two months to issue the report and was very thorough, said Falmouth Police Chief Anthony Riello.

There is an appeals process through the Civil Service Commission, said Whritenour. Gonsalves has not made a formal appeal yet, he said.