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

We kick things off out at SP Lee, where Tpr. James Somerville stopped a car one evening in the town of Great Barrington (not to be confused with Lesser Barrington, or just regular Barrington) for a defective exhaust. The owner stated that he was returning home to Maine after bartending for a wedding. Like there wasn’t anyone local who could open Schlitz and Natty light? Anyhow, the car turns out to be revoked for insurance so a tow is called for. Tpr. Richard Zucco (SP Lee) arrived to assist with the vehicle inventory. Tpr. Somerville opened the trunk and detected a strong odor of marijuana. Inside a cooler he located a large zip-lock bag of marijuana, as well as two more empty bags that had some residue in them. Also located in the vehicle was a small quantity of cocaine. Apparently this guy was offering a “full service” bar at the wedding.

Up at SP Shelburne, Tprs. TJ Tudryn and Joe Hall had an eventful stop late one evening on I-91 in Bernardston (not to be confused with Great Bernardston). TJ had stopped a car containing three males and Joe arrived to assist when it turned out that there was a lack of valid licenses amongst the occupants. That and some sketchy details regarding their travel plans led to an exit order. The driver was more than happy to comply, going so far as to invite the Troopers to search the car. He was not so happy when he realized that the exit order involved a pat-frisk, and he bolted before Joe could get a proper hold on him, jettisoning a plastic baggie in the process. As Joe and TJ attempted to corral the runaway, the other two occupants hopped back in the car, with the 15 year old assuming driving duties! Things got a little frenzied for a moment, with Joe calling out a foot pursuit and TJ taking off after the car. Joe soon caught his man and returned to the scene of the stop, locating a bag of 60 Oxycontin pills. TJ was unable to catch up with the vehicle but put out a very detailed BOLO. Myself and Tpr. Brian Pearl (SP Northampton) had set up at the cross-over in Whately (just regular Whately) and soon observed the car headed south, whereupon we initiated a textbook felony stop, with Tpr. Pearl even having the foresight to come out with his cover on, in case the media showed up. The car only contained the juvenile, though, so TJ headed back up to Greenfield to try and locate the senior member of the gang. Let me tell you, Tpr. Tudryn was hopping mad when he was unable to locate the third individual, visualizing all the contraband that he might have been able to make off with. He lost a lot of sleep that night, so much so, that he went into work early the next day and went right back to the scene, to give it another look in the daylight. This time he was able to come up with another 300 OC pills, which combined with the 60 found the night before, brought the estimated street value of the seizure to approximately $28,000.

They say “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”, and “they” are usually the ones who did the scorning. This was illustrated recently when a woman walked into the Springfield Barracks and informed Tpr. Matt Simpson that her abusive boyfriend had just gotten out of work from the Dunkin Donuts and that he happened to have a warrant. Matt took a ride over to said Dunks and encountered the man, taking him into custody on the warrant. He also discovered a little weed in his pocket, adding a subsequent offence to his record. They always get you in the end, fellas!

Tpr. Matt Donah (B Troop CAT Team) made a stop for a rejected inspection sticker in Springfield and discovered that the driver had a revoked license and, oh yeah, neglected to show up to court a couple of times. While taking him into custody Matt discovered a digital scale on his person and the conversation quickly turned to the possible presence of narcotics. The guy stated that he had an ounce of marijuana in his “underpants”. What, like the ones with Batman on them? Anyhow, the female passenger fessed up to possessing her own quantity of individually packaged marijuana, which she intended to sell when she got to work at a local strip club that night. Since this all went down in front of an elementary school it’s unlikely she made it to work.

Tpr. Mark Weiner (SP Springfield) observed a car blow through an intersection in Springfield in the wee hours of the morning and stopped the very nervous driver. A strong odor of burnt marijuana was readily explained away with the admission that the driver had toked up in his car earlier in the evening. He even produced an empty cigar box to show that he had used up all his stuff. But Marks finely tuned nose detected an underlying scent of unburnt marijuana so he called for Tpr. Dave Stucenski (K9 West) and the even more highly tuned nose of his partner Lando. Lando hit on the center console where they discovered a hide have been built inside, complete with individually packaged marijuana and a scale. Another school zone violation upped the ante on the charges.

Tpr. Mike Trombley (B Troop CAT Team) observed a couple or roaches in the ashtray after he had stopped a car for running a stop sign. The driver admitted that he had a little more weed on him and turned over a dime bag. Tprs. Kudryk and Ofcarcik (SP Springfield) arrived to assist with the passenger and discovered a pipe and some other marijuana debris. They also noticed that the back seat of the Dodge sedan was filled with what would normally be in the trunk. That and a strong smell of fresh marijuana led them to open the trunk, where they discovered the freshest marijuana they had ever come across. The entire trunk was filled with marijuana plants, still in the pots. Potted pot, if you will! Ten plants in all. These guys like their stuff fresh!

Tpr. Greg Spahl (B Troop CAT Team) was in, you guessed it, Springfield one evening when he had reason to stop a car for excessive window tint. The driver handed over his license and sat there while Greg checked the tint on the car, determining that it was darker than allowed by law. A registry check revealed that the mans license was suspended and that he was on probation for narcotics charges so Greg called for a tow truck. When Greg went back up the car the man had rolled up the window and refused to get out. Greg informed him that he would have to get out because the car was being towed and that information elicited a knee-jerk reaction. And by knee-jerk I mean he jerked the car into gear and straightened his knee to floor the gas pedal. Another genius who figured the cops would be happy with just handing him a ticket. The car sped off and Greg jumped in his sled, giving hot pursuit (abiding all policies and procedures, you can be sure) through the streets of Springfield. Greg caught up a few blocks away and the man pulled over and gave up without a fight. The rest of the CAT Teamers arrived to assist and determined that the guy must have given up after he had discarded whatever drugs had been in the vehicle, seeing as a Springfield PD canine was hitting on an empty center console. Tprs. Sean Barry and John Driscoll retraced the route of the pursuit (hey, that rhymes!) and located a baggie containing 39 grams of cocaine. Again, all within 1,000 feet of a school!

Finally, moving out of the stifling confines of the City of Springfield, we get a story out of Northampton. Tpr. Bob Wyckoff (SP Northampton) was observing traffic on I-91 in the middle of the night when he spied a vehicle with a loud exhaust. Bob stopped this vehicle and detected the odor of burnt marijuana. He also observed a white, powdery substance sprinkled on the drivers lap. Noting the obvious, that there was no donut boxes in the car, Bob surmised that it may be cocaine. The driver was unable to provide a license but was happy to give his name and social security number. Bob had him exit the car and asked about the presence of any contraband in the car. The man stated that there was a gun in the car, one that he did not have a permit to possess and could not show proof of ownership for. Tpr. Justin Roberson (SP Northampton) and Tpr. Sean Maher (K9 West) arrived to assist and located a loaded Walther P22 in a duffle bag. They also discovered a wallet with the drivers real ID in it.

When you hear the names of Tpr. Dan Pinkham what’s the first thing you think of? Drug interdictionist? Crotch searcher? Manipulator of joints and unsuspecting fingers? How about life-saver? It seems that Dan was the first to arrive on scene after a man decided to test the limits of his Chrysler minivan by taking the off-ramp at Exit 21 in Northampton at well above the recommended 25mph speed limit. While the Chrysler Town & Country may boast a plethora of creature comforts and amenities, it’s not much in the high speed handling department, so it was little or no surprise when Soccer Dad lost control and crashed into a concrete riser. Dan arrived to find the man wedged in the door of the van, unable to get out of the vehicle due to a broken leg. Disregarding the flames that were sprouting from the underside of the van, and heedless of the risk to his own safety (at least as Dan tells the story) he pulled the driver clear before the vehicle became fully engulfed in flames. Tpr. Bill Loiselle arrived with marshmallows. For their efforts they are bestowed the inaugural B-Troop In-The-Book Lifesaving Award.

The tag-team of Loiselle and Pinkham were back to their regular activities more recently when Dan stopped a car for a loud exhaust on I-91 in Hatfield. He was greeted by a couple of nervous passengers and the overpowering smell of air fresheners. He struck up a conversation with the pair of young men who stated that they had gone to Connecticut to trade in the car they were driving. When Dan pointed out that the vehicle was registered to a woman, and asked if she knew that they were trading in her car, they stated that she wouldn’t mind. When he asked why they were coming home in the same car they became a little fuzzy on the reason. He also noticed a lone suitcase in the back, which seemed out of place since they had allegedly only gone to Connecticut for the afternoon. Tpr Bill Loiselle arrived to assist and they decided to call in some canine expertise, to see if there were any scents hidden under the cloud of air fresheners. Tpr. Gary Hebert (K9 West) let his partner have a quick trot around the car, and the dog liked what he smelled. And it wasn’t pine! Once they had probable cause to search the car they went straight for the suitcase, locating five pounds of fresh marijuana. The weed was of such a high quality that the pair was charged with a Class C violation.

And finally, when you hold something up as setting a standard it’s only natural that people will try to beat it. Like the recently reported case of Tpr. Brian Pearl (SP Northampton) clearing a warrant from 1993. Well, Tpr. Mike O’Neil (SP Cheshire), the go-getter that he is, took the opportunity of a guest patrol in the B-6 area to run some radar and netted himself a speeder who had an outstanding warrant from 1986! Mike was only three years old when the warrant was issued. Looks like you’re going to have to run license checks in the parking lot at the old-folks home to beat that one. Dan Pinkham is still confident that his 609 lb arrest record is safe for a while.

That’s it for another month. Be safe.