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

We start off this month with Tpr. William Dempsey (SP Shelburne) was rolling through the City of Greenfield one night in early July when he stopped a car for marked lanes and the heinous act of throwing a lit cigarette onto the road. The female operator was unable to produce a license or registration, and the odor of alcohol initiated the Field Sobriety Test (FST) portion of the evening’s festivities. The girl failed all the tests and was promptly arrested. Tpr. Mike Bonasoro (SP Shelburne) arrived on scene to assist with the vehicle inventory, locating an open beer and some empty test-tube shots. The woman began to get belligerent on the ride back to the barracks, attempting to break the Plexiglas window of the cruiser partition with her head. Once at the barracks she continued to verbally assault Tpr. Dempsey, calling him a “rear orifice”, or something to that affect. The booking process had to be put on hold while she was given a chance to cool off in one of the cells, where the 5’ 7”, 230 pound female took out her aggression on the bars. Once she was relatively under control she was given a chance to fail the Breath Test (BT), which only fueled her ire toward the Troopers in the barracks, whereupon she launched into a renewed attack on Tpr. Dempsey, wondering if he had gone to a special school learn how to be a jerk, or something to that affect. An “Asshole Academy”, if you will? She then used her charming personality to threaten someone into bringing her bail once she got a chance to make a phone call. Unsuccessfully, as one might imagine. A night in the Franklin County House of Correction did little to soften her mood.

Tpr. TJ Tudryn (SP Shelburne) stopped an erratic vehicle on Interstate 91 in Bernardston one evening in mid July and took the male operator into custody for an outstanding warrant. The female passenger appeared to be a little under the weather and he had her get out of the car so that he could have it towed. As she got out Tpr. Kevin Wesoloski (SP Shelburne) observed a hypodermic needle under her seat. A closer look revealed what appeared to be a bundle of heroin. The young lady, naturally, had no idea what they were or how they got there. However, Ol’ “Sweet Talk” Tudryn convinced her to fess up and she revealed that she had some narcotics in her underwear. She then produced a baggie of marijuana from under her bra. But wait, this is B Troop. That’s not the kind of underwear smuggling we’re used to dealing with. Fret not, because once back at the barracks Tpr. May Pekarski assisted her in locating two more bundles of heroin from her crotch area. Yup, weed up top, smack down below! That’s how she rolls.

Tpr. Matt Donah (B Troop CAT Team) was observing traffic on St. James Ave in Springfield when he waved over a car for an inspection violation. Matt watched the car pull in at the corner and then he got in his cruiser to move it up behind the vehicle. The driver took this opportunity to floor it, taking off at a high rate of speed. Matt gave chase and gave the info to the Springfield Barracks. He followed the car as it lost control on a turn and crashed through a chain link fence, at which time the passengers bailed and split up. Matt kept after the driver, quickly catching and taking down his prey, like a young puma. The driver thought that putting up a fight might better his chances of escape, but it only bettered his chances of getting a face full of OC spray. Tprs. Brian Clapprood, Amy Waterman and Steve Gregorczyk of the CAT Team, joined by Tpr. Brian Gladu (K-9 West) arrived on scene and corralled the fleeing passenger. It was later revealed that the lack of a valid license and an inspection sticker were the only motivating factors in the drivers decision to run from the police.

Tpr. Matt Simpson (SP Springfield) pulled a car over for speeding on Route 57 in Agawam and observed that the driver was stuffing his mouth with crackers as he walked up to the car. For their absorbent qualities, perhaps? Once the driver was able to speak it was obvious that he had been drinking. The man explained that he was coming home from shopping at Costco with his three year old daughter. He was not so clear on how he had managed to slip “a few beers” into the trip. He was given the opportunity to try the FST’s, but failed them all. Tpr. Simpson apparently had more concern for the little girl than the driver did, taking the time to wait until her mother arrived on scene before affecting the arrest. A .16 on the BT put the finishing touches on his third OUI charge.

The Springfield Barracks received a call from a motorist who was observing a man beating up a woman in a car headed northbound on Interstate 91 in Springfield. Sgt. Al Joubert put the info out on the radio and cruisers began responding to the area. Sgt. Joubert kept the caller on the line as she relayed that the vehicle was not stopped and the man was chasing the woman across the highway. Tpr Richard Gawron (SP Russell) was on a guest patrol to B-3 and arrived on scene to discover the man straddling the woman on the side of the road down on Columbus Ave. He quickly took the man into custody and rendered assistance to the woman, who had some obvious bruises on her face. Tprs. Christine Albano and Dave Podworski, both from SP Springfield, and Lt. John Healy (BHQ) arrived to assist. Tpr. Adam Mathieu (SP Northampton) located the vehicle and secured it as a possible crime scene. While they were dealing with the passengers the Troopers were advised that the vehicle was wanted by Suffield, CT police department in connection with a B&E that had occurred in their town the previous evening. An inventory of the vehicle turned up the stolen property. It transpired that the man and woman had committed the B&E and had then gotten into an argument, with her ending up on the losing end.

Tpr. Dana LaPointe (AG’s Office) received a call from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), looking for assistance with an investigation in the City of Springfield. At appears that the ICE agents were in possession of two packages that had been intercepted in a Federal Express shipment coming through Bradley airport in Hartford, CT. The packages were destined for two addresses in Springfield, and the agents had confirmed that a Jamaican national had been inquiring with the regular delivery driver about their location, claiming that he had been tracking their progress from California on the website. Of course, the packages were taken from the shipment because it was suspected that they contained marijuana. 138 pounds of marijuana! Tpr. LaPointe obtained a search warrant and confirmed the existence of the contraband. An ICE agent then donned a clever disguise and delivered the packages, resulting in the arrest of the individuals who signed for them.

Tpr. Brian Gladu (K-9 West) was at the Donut Dip on West Springfield at the start of his Eve shift, picking up a cruller for Dash, no doubt, when someone ran into the store yelling that there was a car on fire next to the building. Brian went out and grabbed his extinguisher, quickly putting out the engine fire. He then had conversation with the driver, who claimed to only have been pushing the vehicle, not driving it. However, a witness reported that the man had been driving when the car stalled at the light. The witness had helped the driver push the car into the lot next to the donut shop, whereupon it burst into flames. Further conversation with the unlicensed driver revealed that he may have had a little too much to drink, which might have accounted for the recent crash damage to the front of the car. Although, the driver claimed that the bumper just popped off the car while he was standing there. It seems that the crash damage caused the car to stall and subsequently catch fire. The man failed the FST’s and was arrested on his second OUI charge. A .31 was registered on the BT.

Tpr. Paul Kudryk (SP Springfield) responded to a crash on Interstate 391 in Chicopee and learned that the female operator had apparently lost control and crossed three lanes before smashing her car into the guardrail. The 50-something year old woman blamed a faulty transmission. It turned out that her license was suspended and she was taken into custody. Back at the barracks Tpr. Amy Waterman (B Troop CAT Team) was preparing to perform a search during booking and asked the woman if she had anything on her person that they should be aware of. The woman informed them that she had a “personal pleasure device”. When asked where exactly she had this device she reluctantly stated that it was still installed between her legs. She then extracted said device, allegedly still running (Duracell?), and turned it over to the Troopers. She eventually conceded that her involvement with this device may have been the real cause of her crash.

Tpr. Michael Doktor (SP Springfield) stopped a car for a defective plate light on Interstate 291 on Springfield one Mid shift and observed a cold can of beer between the drivers feet. The man claimed that he had not been drinking, despite the odor of alcohol from his breath, and stated that the beer was old. Mike had the man exit the vehicle before his burning pants set fire to the interior of the vehicle. While the door was open Mike observed a scale with a white powdery residue in the door. Setting that aside for the moment, Mike had the man perform some FST’s, which he passed. Turning his attention back to the door, confirming that the residue was crack cocaine. After securing the driver in the back of the cruiser, Mike located 8 bags of crack and two baggies of marijuana, as well as a quantity of cash in small bills.

Tprs. Mike O’Neil and David McKearney were dispatched from SP Cheshire to the Town of Dalton to assist that police department with a stand-off involving a suicidal party. The man in question was apparently too afraid to do the job himself and intended on putting a police officer in the position of having to take his life by threatening the local officers with a scissors. He was yelling at the officers on scene to shoot him. Mike and Dave arrived and, together with Dalton Chief Bartels and some other officers, attempted to gain control of the man before he made it back into his house, fearing that he may be able to further arm himself. Liberal amounts of OC spray and a few well-placed baton strikes distracted him long enough for the officers to pig-pile him and get the scissors away. He continued to kick out at them until Mike was able to get a pair of cuffs on his ankles. Needless to say, a long stay in a well-padded room was prescribed.

Over at SP Russell Tpr. Jeff Roberts stopped a cat for a lights violation and had conversation with the visibly nervous driver. The man stated that he used to have problems with his license but that they had all been cleared up in May. Apparently “cleared up” he meant that his license had been revoked for refusing to take a Breath Test. Jeff took him into custody and soon discovered the root cause of his anxiety while he was inventorying the car, namely a quantity of marijuana and cocaine in the center console.

Tpr. Dan Pinkham (SP Northampton) was out on Interstate 91 in Hatfield when he stopped a vehicle for following too closely. Another nervous driver heightened Dan’s curiosity and he ran a thorough check on the woman, revealing a history of narcotics charges. Tpr. Brian Gladu (K-9 West) came out to the scene and let Dash have a whiff of the vehicle. Dash liked what he smelled and Dan asked the woman for consent to search the car. She hesitantly agreed and Dan located 30 bags of heroin in her purse.

Tpr. Alicia Pincince (SP Northampton) was stopping a car in Hatfield for an inspection sticker violation one night when she observed the driver duck down out of sight before he pulled the car over. That, and five occupants, was enough to request some back-up, and she was soon joined by Sgt. Rick Cadran and Tpr. Bob Wyckoff from B-6. Since none of the occupants were wearing seatbelts she obtained ID and ran checks on them all. Two of the passengers had outstanding warrants and they were taken into custody. Major inconsistencies in the passengers’ stories prompted further inquiries with the operator, who offered to let the troopers search the car. This search revealed a quantity of marijuana and cocaine, as well as numerous other items associated with distribution of said narcotics, in the trunk. Tpr. David Stucenski (K-9 West) brought Lando to the scene and the dog located more druge dispersed throughout the vehicle, as well as a large amount of cash. The driver had been charged with similar offences by Tpr. Matt Simpson last November in Springfield.

Tpr. Dan Pinkham (SP Northampton) was notified by SP Shelburne that they had taken calls of a pick-up truck headed southbound on Interstate 91 into the B-6 area that had been allegedly speeding and using strobe lights to move vehicles out of the way. Since the truck had a Connecticut vanity plate it was highly unlikely that the driver was lawfully using the emergency lights. Dan caught up with the truck in Northampton and observed it to almost strike the guardrail. Once Dan had it pulled over he detected a strong odor of alcohol, although the driver denied having anything to drink. He did admit to using his corner strobes on the highway though. Despite his denial of drinking, Dan had him get out and perform some FST’s, which he failed. A .25 on the BT led to his second OUI offence.

Tpr. Dan Pinkham was at it again when he stopped a car for speeding and following too close on 91 in Holyoke. He immediately detected the odor of burnt marijuana while he was talking with the occupants and requested some back-up so that he could conduct a search. Tpr. Amy Waterman (BHQ CAT Team) arrived to assist and Dan located a shoebox full of marijuana, as well as scales and other items consistent with intent to distribute. The driver claimed responsibility for the drugs but denied the intent to distribute. He claimed that he was concerned about leaving his drugs unsecured at home in Vermont so he had brought them with him on the trip to Connecticut. Apparently marijuana does make you paranoid!

Tpr. Dan Askew (SP Northampton) responded to the scene of a roll-over crash on 91 southbound in Hatfield on the last Saturday in June. He arrived to find the vehicle on its roof and the highway littered with fireworks. According to witnesses, the jeep had been traveling at approximately 100mph when the driver lost control and flipped over, spewing fireworks all over the road in the process. I guess this genius didn’t realize that he could have bought his fireworks in Connecticut and he wouldn’t have to speed home with his load of contraband.

Tpr. Bill Loiselle (SP Northampton) came up with another well-won drug arrest when he stopped a car in I-91 northbound in Northampton for a loud exhaust. The nervous driver stated that his license was suspended and Billy called for a tow, since the passenger didn’t have a license either. Tpr. Dan Pinkham arrived to assist and Billy began to inventory the car. He observed the end of a marijuana pipe sticking out of the female passengers pocket-book and investigated further, coming up with an ounce of cocaine and some marijuana. When confronted with the discovery the woman admitted that she may have some more on her person. Can you guess where? Wrong!! It was in her bra, which seems to be the new trend.

And finally, this little item was tucked away in the middle of the B-6 log but is definitely worthy of notice. It seems that SP Northampton had received some calls just after midnight of an assault in progress in a vehicle that was pulled over on the off-ramp of Exit 18 in Northampton. The callers stated that there was a male party on top of a female in the breakdown lane. Tprs. Ken Harold, Alicia Pincince and Dustin Fitch, all of SP Northampton, as well as Tpr. Andy Martindell (K-9 West), arrived on scene and encountered the couple. The man quickly identified himself as a New York City police officer and stated that he had been having consentual sex with his sister-in-law! Maybe that’s how thing are done in the Big Apple but here in New England we’d at least have the decency to get a room. By the way, as you read this, Tpr. Harold is serving his country proudly in Iraq. We wish him well.