The State Police Association of Massachusetts
[Memorial to Fallen Officers]

We start this tour of the Troop with a quick story out of SP Lee. Tpr. Steven Lord was finishing an Eve shift when he encountered a motorist having some trouble getting his car through an intersection in the Town of Lenox. When Tpr. Lord swung around to check on him the operator stated that he was having a problem with his transmission. Specifically, he didn’t know how to drive a standard. Due to some observed equipment violations, Tpr. Lord asked for a license and registration. The operator didn’t know who owned the car and indicated that he had left his African license at home. He didn’t have his passport either. A complete lack of any verifiable identification led to an arrest for Unlicensed Operation. Back at the barracks the man confided that he was a prince in his home country in Africa, but didn’t want his consulate contacted, in order to avoid any unnecessary embarrassment, you understand. Like he was on a secret mission to find a princess? Oh wait, Eddie Murphy already made that movie! A call to ICE was made instead, which led to a detainer being placed on him for overstaying his welcome in the US.

Tpr. Mark Nowak (SP Lee) was on patrol on Route 7 in Lenox one afternoon when he stopped a young lady for speeding and defective brake light. We’ve all seen those videos that show people being stopped for a minor infraction and handling the situation very badly. Mark had no idea that this was going to become one of those stops. The girl started by berating the Trooper for making her late for work. While Mark was filling out the not-too-small volume of paperwork that is required for a citation, the operator got out of her car, swearing and shouting at him and calling him all manner of mean, terrible, nasty things (that I know our good Editor will not permit me to recount on these pages, so you’ll just have to use your imagination). The woman had to be told numerous times to get back into her car. Tprs. Sarah Basak and Richard Zucco (SP Lee) were passing by and stopped by to watch the show, giving the driver a couple of fresh targets for her foul mouth. More unkind names were leveled at Tpr. Basak, and again at Tpr. Nowak, when he gave her the citation. The woman then tossed the ticket out of her car, screaming that she wasn’t going to pay it because she was moving out of the country. Well that was the final straw for Tpr. Basak. She can handle any amount of verbal abuse, but littering is a different matter entirely. The Troopers followed the car up the road and initiated another stop, kindly giving the woman a whole lot more to complain about, and leaving her with a summons for littering to go with her speeding ticket.

There are certain Troopers who can be classified as Sh*t Magnets, and Tpr. TJ Tudryn (SP Shelburne) is fast becoming one of them. When TJ pulls on his uniform and gets in his cruiser to start a shift, the planets begin to align in such a manner as to compel people who have no license to take their unregistered cars for a drive, and bring their contraband along for the ride. In the beginning of March, TJ was observing southbound traffic on Interstate 91 in Greenfield when he stopped a car for following too close. The operator of the rental car had a suspended license and the passenger was not listed on the agreement, leaving the Trooper with no choice but to tow the car. An inventory of the vehicle revealed some bundles of currency in the luggage. Suspecting narcotics activity, TJ called for a canine, and Tpr. Gene Baker was happy to oblige. The dog had a profound interest in the console of the car but no drugs were found. Further investigation revealed that the occupants had transported a quantity of narcotics to Vermont and were returning home with the cash as payment. In total, almost $30k in drug proceeds was seized as a result of the stop.

Tpr. Adam Leonczyk (SP Shelburne) was on a recent Eve shift in the middle of March when he used his MDT to run a registry check on a pick-up truck that was in traffic in front of him on Main St. in Greenfield, discovering that the owner had a suspended license. His attempt to affect a motor vehicle stop was met with indifference, and then disapproval, evidenced by the operator speeding up, not slowing down. Tpr. Jason Macomber (SP Shelburne) joined the pursuit as the driver ran red lights and displayed a general disregard for the safety of his fellow motorists. The chase continued down Route 5 into Deerfield where the man lost the cruisers by taking his truck off-road, to “get a little mud on the tires”, as the song goes. When he finally hit pavement again he ran smack dab into Tpr. Tony Martino (SP Shelburne) and was finally corralled by the B-2 cruisers.

On that same evening Tpr. Joseph Hall (SP Shelburne) observed a vehicle straying over the center line on Route 2 in Shelburne. He watched as the driver continued to weave in the lane and then run right up to the rear of a car in front, flashing his high beams to get the other car out of his way. Tpr. Hall had seen enough and pulled the car over, getting up to the window in time to see the driver relocate his bag of beer to the back seat. When Joe tapped on the window the driver started to talk to him without opening it, and stared blankly when Joe suggested that he might have to roll the window down in order to explain himself. This may have been part of the drivers’ ploy to avoid incriminating himself, because the closed window was preventing the overwhelming odor of alcohol from escaping the car. The man then attempted to sidestep some pointed questions regarding his recent consumption of alcohol, but only provided more evidence of his alleged drunkenness. Field Sobriety Tests (FST’s) were requested, attempted, and subsequently failed. Once he was taken into custody on his second OUI charge, the driver must have figured that he would try his best at the last test, and blew a .21 on the BT.

Tpr. Aaron Kane was out and about in Springfield in the wee hours of the morning when he responded to a two-car crash on Interstate 91. Once he had determined that no-one was injured he started talking to the female operator of the “hitting” vehicle. When he asked her what had happened she stated that she had to pee and answer her cell phone, at the same time presumably, and that this too much to handle while driving, so she didn’t (drive, that is), which led to her losing control of the car and crashing into the only other vehicle on the road at 5am. This little story was gelling with Aaron’s observations of the operator, specifically the glassy, bloodshot eyes, the unsteadiness, and, oh yes, the odor of alcohol. Failing the FST’s was compounded by the discovery of an open beer in the car. A .15 on the BT sealed the deal.

Tprs. Michael Trombley and Luis Rodriguez were working a two-man patrol with the BHQ-CAT Team in Springfield one evening when they ran a car on their MDT that turned out to be revoked due to insurance cancellation. Once the car was stopped and the passengers identified the Troopers set about performing an inventory prior to having the car towed. When he opened the truck Luis detected the strong odor of fresh marijuana. Tpr. Trombley concurred with his partners’ assessment of the odor and the inventory became a search. A large Hefty zip-lock back full of marijuana was found wrapped in a coat in the truck. I don’t think that’s what they meant by “blue and yellow makes green”.

In the middle of a Mid shift out of SP Cheshire Tpr. Pedro Monteiro observed a vehicle make an illegal u-turn in the City of Pittsfield and affected a motor vehicle stop. As he approached the car he saw the driver looking back at him and the passenger appear to be trying to conceal something between the seats. Concerned for his safety, Pedro requested some back-up and ordered the two men out of the car. They appeared to be a little unsteady on their feet. A pat-frisk of the driver yielded a large wad of cash. Both occupants repeatedly stated that they were attempted to hide some beer in the car. The passenger went on to reiterate that there was nothing else in the car, only beer. These were, of course, the leftovers from the standard “two beers” the driver had consumed. Bloodshot eyes and slurred speech led Pedro to presume that this was a conservative estimate. The driver was asked to perform some FST’s. He could only recite the alphabet to the letter C and refused to count backwards. By now, reinforcements had arrived, in the form of Sgt. Chris Meiklejohn, Tpr. John Stec and Tpr. Matt Boyer. The driver now had an audience to watch him do the rest of the FST’s, and perhaps performance anxiety was to blame for his subsequent failures. Once the driver was taken into custody for his second OUI offence, an inventory of the vehicle turned up a quantity of cocaine, which, combined with the cash found on the driver, led to both occupants being charged with intent to distribute.

Near the end of their Eve shift out at SP Russell, Tprs. Jeff Roberts and Jason Yagodzinski were dispatched to the area of the Russell Town Hall with a report that a neighbor was watching four men scaling the fence and apparently stealing spools of wire that were stored behind the building. Jeff arrived first and made a tactical approach, pulling right up to the area behind the building before throwing all his lights on, in time to see two men feeding wire through from inside the fence to two more men on the outside, who were rolling it all into the back of a station wagon. Jeff got out of his cruiser and ordered the men to the ground. Three of them complied but one attempted to hide behind some spools. Of course, the one that tried to hide was inside the fence, so Jeff had very little trouble locating him when Jason arrived to assist. All four were transported to the barracks, where one of the gang became quite unruly and began a verbal assault on his confederates and the Troopers in the barracks. This party was identified by the rest of the group as the “mastermind” of the operation. Tpr. Joe Nesbitt (SP Cheshire) had conducted an inventory of the getaway wagon, locating a number of receipts from area metal recyclers, incriminating the group in a string of recent thefts from area businesses and municipalities.

Tpr. Brian Pearl has been having a lot of fun since moving to SP Northampton, and this month is no exception. Near the end of an Eve shift in early March he decided to make good use of his issued MDT and ran any plate he could find on Interstate 91 in Holyoke. One came back with a possible warrant on the registered female owner. Once he stopped the car he confirmed that the owner was driving and took her into custody on said warrant. Since the male passenger in the car did not have a valid license Brian had no choice but to tow the car. Tpr. Steve Burgess (BHQ-CAT) arrived to assist and kept an eye on the passenger while Brian conducted an inventory of the car. Under the passenger seat he discovered a loaded Walther semi-automatic, complete with obliterated serial numbers. A subsequent, and presumably thorough, search of the man during booking turned up 8 grams of cocaine and a quantity of cash, to go along with the firearms charges. Drugs, money and a gun off the street. Nice work.

The next evening, Tpr. Bill Loiselle (SP Northampton) stopped a SUV for operating erratically on 91 in Northampton. While the driver explained that he had been trying to fix his CD player, Billy detected the odor of fresh marijuana coming from the vehicle. When questioned about the possible source of the odor the driver stated that there might be a couple of ounces of marijuana in the car that he was bringing to his girlfriends uncle. Oh, and maybe a little extra for personal use. Billy secured the driver in his cruiser and took a look in the car, finding a wide variety of marijuana, marijuana by-products, marijuana accessories and paraphernalia, including resin, a pipe, papers, scales, and buds. In total he found a gallon bag full of weed and another couple of ounces in separate bags. He also found a package of “Whizzinator”, a compound alleged to thwart drug tests. This discovery had no real bearing on the charges; I just wanted to use the word “Whizzinator” in the paper.

Tpr. Amy MacLean (SP Northampton) was dispatched to the scene of a single-car crash on Interstate 91 in Holyoke in the middle of her Mid shift in late February. When she arrived at the location she discovered that the heavily damaged car had been abandoned by the occupants. Her observations led her to believe that there were two passengers in the car. The tow operator who arrived to remove the vehicle reported seeing two young men walking down the street, away from the area of the exit. Amy cleared the scene and headed down to Holyoke Medical Center, to see if anyone had come on with injuries from a car crash. When she was walking up to the door a man who was standing outside asked her if he was in trouble. The ER staff identified the man as having come in with crash related injuries a short time ago. Amy went back outside and had conversation with the man, who related that he had been a passenger in the crash. He was more than a little upset at the driver, who had apparently run off into the woods after crashing his car. Amy was able to place both parties in the vehicle because they had left their ball caps behind when they bailed out. Further investigation revealed that the vehicle had been stolen from the same neighborhood that the driver lived in, but the owner was unaware until notified by the police. How’d you like to be woken up at four in the morning with that news? Amy spent the rest of the night trying to track down the driver, with the help of Tpr. Adam Mathieu (SP Northampton) and Tpr. Dan Kelly (SP Springfield). She was able to get a hold of him about a week later, in jail, where she issued him a summons for receiving stolen property and leaving the scene of an accident.

St. Patrick’s Day is a huge event in the City of Holyoke and this year proved no exception. Extra patrols are put on to assist Holyoke PD with the big parade and this year the BHQ CAT Team was assigned the area for the day. Whilst parked in a lot just off Exit 15 in Holyoke, waiting to close the ramp, Sgt. John Murphy of the CAT Team observed a couple of gents involved in a narcotics transaction in a parked car. The pair panicked when they realized that they had been seen by the police and the passenger jumped out of the car while the driver shoved a bundle of heroin packets at him. The bundle ended up on the ground while Sgt. Murphy struggled with the passenger. The driver took off in the car as Tpr. Stephen Gregorczyk (BHQ CAT) arrived to assist. The details on the car were relayed to Holyoke PD, who were able to locate and stop it just up the road. Sgt. Murphy brought the passenger with him to be re-united with the driver. Both were transported to SP Springfield for booking. In total, 106 bags of heroin were recovered from the scene.

On his way home from his assignment at the RMV, Tpr. Tom Moriarty (SP Northampton) stopped a car for erratic operation on Interstate 91 in Northampton. The driver was unable to produce a license and exhibited signs of inebriation. Tpr. Mike Tucker, Tpr. Matt Moran and this reporter, all from B-6, swung by to assist and both occupants were removed from the vehicle, in the process revealing a large number of empty “nip” bottles. The suspended driver became upset when the Troopers began to search the car for any more evidence of alcohol consumption, claiming that they were damaging his antiques. The driver began to yell and scream at the Troopers, eventually inviting them to perform oral sex on him. The decision was made to take the driver into custody for disorderliness, but he disagreed with that plan, and began to fight with the Troopers. It took three of them to get him cuffed and stuffed into the back of the cruiser. The man then began to take his frustration out on the interior of the cruiser, attempting to kick out the side window. Tpr. Moriarty was subjected to a barrage of verbal abuse all the way back to the barracks, including, but not limited to, his alleged bad breath and erectile dysfunction. The man had to be physically carried into the barracks and then tried to kick the Troopers in the booking room. He put up such a fight that the Troopers were unable to remove his cuffs in a safe manner, so he was put in a cell to cool off, where he kicked at the Plexiglas covering the bars until he broke it. Tpr. Tucker noticed that the man was bleeding from the wrist and called an ambulance. The chap then proceeded to level insults at the female EMT’s, who, understandably, refused to treat him until he was more cooperative. It was at this point that Tpr. Adam Mathieu decided to try out some of that voodoo, Jedi mind treatment type stuff that he learned as a Crisis Negotiator. He entered the cell area and within twenty minutes had the prisoner crying and apologizing like he was on the Dr. Phil show. After that the booking process went without incident.

Later that same evening Tprs. Bill Loiselle, Matt West and Mike Tucker were sent out from B-6 to a bar in Hatfield with a report of a disturbance. They arrived to find a couple of crashed vehicles on the road in front of the bar and a large crowd in the parking lot. Once everyone was calmed down it was discovered that the owner of the crashed pick-up had been involved in a dispute with the owner of the crashed car whilst they were in the bar, and that the owner of the pick-up had decided to crash his truck into the other party when he got in his car. It was also determined that the owner of the pick-up may have been fueled by a lot of alcohol, as was evidenced by his utter failure to complete the FST’s.

Tpr. Adam Mathieu and Tpr. Matt Moran, both of SP Northampton, stopped a pair of vehicles for making a u-turn in a cross-over on Interstate 91 in Holyoke. While Adam dealt with one driver Matt went to speak with his buddy in the other car. The driver stated that both vehicles had been traveling together but had gotten lost, further indicating that his GPS system told him to make a u-turn at that cross-over. During this conversation Matt observed an open pill bottle in the center console that contained a quantity of white powder. When asked what was in the container the driver simply stated, “Coke”. It doesn’t get any easier than that, folks.

On April Fools Day Tpr. Maureen Glynn (SP Northampton) stopped a car on 91 in Northampton for an inspection violation. The male driver had no license with him and seemed very unsure about which of the three dates he gave Maureen was his date-of-birth. A license picture that came back to his stated social security number did not match the driver so Maureen called B-6 and requested some back-up. Tpr. Matt West arrived on scene and Maureen took the driver out of the car. A search of his person revealed an ID card with his real name. This discovery caused the driver to push away from Maureen and take off running down the highway, with Matt and Maureen in chase. Matt tackled the man, who continued to struggle and drag both Troopers over the guardrail. The fight continued down the embankment and under the wildlife fence, with doses of OC spray and baton strikes doing little to slow the determined man down. As the trio crashed though the trees and bushes both Troopers continued to use their batons, limiting their strikes to his upper thigh area. He was able to tell them that their blows were hurting him, but apparently not to the point that he stopped resisting. After ten minutes and 200 yards, the Troopers were able to get control of the man. Tpr. Matt Donah (BHQ CAT) arrived to assist with bringing him out of the woods. A search of his person revealed a quantity of cocaine and marijuana. A female passenger was arrested on a warrant.

Well, that’s it for this month. I’d like to finish with a correction. Tpr. Erin Fowler would like it pointed out that her recently reported drug seizure was 21 grams of cocaine, and not 21 ounces, as I had indicated. This clarification does drop the B Troop In-The-Book rating of her stop from “Awesome”, to simply “Outstanding”. It’s something she’s just going to have to come to terms with. Thanks to all those who sent me their stories. And remember, it’s better to be in the book, than in the news.