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

While patrolling Rte. 2 in Westminster, Tpr. Mike Noble noticed an obviously overloaded trailer being towed by a dump truck at a hazardously slow speed. He effected a traffic stop and requested that a truck team member assist him and inspect the commercial vehicle. Some workers were following the vehicle and they stopped as well. One of the workers parked his personal vehicle approximately 250 feet behind the trooper’s cruiser to wait for the traffic stop to finish. After a period of time, Tpr. Noble approached this vehicle to advise its driver that it would be a little while before the inspection was complete. When the subject rolled down his window, Tpr. Noble immediately smelled burnt marijuana. A subsequent search revealed a half burnt marijuana “roach” and a quantity of marijuana. Apparently, the subject became bored and decided to spark one up while he waited for the traffic stop to finish. He was arrested and charged with possession of a class D substance (third offense).

Tpr. Anthony Watson while patrolling Rte.84 in Sturbridge effected a traffic stop of a Ford Taurus for excessive window tint. He soon discovered that the Florida licensed operator was suspended in Massachusetts for a payment default. He then arrested the operator for operating after license suspension. As the trooper inventoried the Ford, he discovered a scale with a white power residue consistent with a controlled substance. A request for a narcotics detection K-9 was made and the vehicle was towed and secured at the Sturbridge barracks. Sgt. Smith of the K-9 unit arrived and checked the Taurus. The dog alerted on the scale and the front left fender/ hood area of the Ford. A check under the hood revealed a sock with approximately 200 grams of cocaine inside. The driver of the vehicle was additionally charged with trafficking a class B substance.

Troopers Chuck Nolan, Chris Coscia, and Mike Fitzgerald responded to a two-car accident on Rte.2 in Fitchburg. Upon their arrival, they learned that one of the vehicles involved, a Chevy Blazer, had fled the scene. In the process of leaving the scene, the Blazer had dragged the second operator, nearly crushing him between two vehicles. That driver was transported by ambulance to the Leominster Hospital. Troopers Nolan and Fitzgerald located the damaged Chevy, abandoned a few miles from the accident. Trooper Nolan found a highly intoxicated subject matching the suspect’s description a short time later. He was taken into protective custody and transported to the Leominster Barracks. The victim was treated and released from the hospital. He positively identified the other driver a short time later. The drunken man was not only charged with the misdemeanor offense operating under the influence of intoxicating liquor and leaving the scene, but also the felony offenses of assault with intent to murder and assault by means of a dangerous weapon.

The Worcester Police served a drug warrant in their city that flushed out one suspect to his red Dodge Durango. The suspect was wanted on drug violations and believed to be armed. The suspect raced the SUV onto Rte. 290 east with the Worcester officers on its tail, requesting assistance from the State Police. Tpr. James Jaworek, who picked up the pursuit of the Durango as it sped east approaching Rte. 495, immediately answered this request. The suspect drove the Dodge as fast as he could, weaving through the mid-morning traffic and headed onto Rte.495 north. Tpr. Jaworek was joined by additional troopers as the pursuit headed into Westford where traffic was stopped due to a lane closure in Chelmsford. As the pursuit approached this traffic, all three lanes were at a standstill. This did not stop the four-wheel drive vehicle. It headed down the snow-covered median with Trooper Jaworek on its tail. The pursuit appeared to be coming to an end as the Dodge became boxed in between a grassy incline on the left, traffic on the right, and a guard rail straight ahead. The Durango then struck a drainage trough becoming airborne to the point where this writer could see light under the vehicles four tires. Somehow, the Dodge landed in a location that was traffic free in the left lane. Tpr. Jaworek’s cruiser took a somewhat less spectacular long jump and became blocked by traffic.

All troopers involved then received a radio transmission of “Wow…Dukes of Hazard!” The Durango then raced down the breakdown lane and briefly eluded officers as it took the ramp to Rte.4 in Chelmsford. Chelmsford P.D. re-engaged near the Drum Hill rotary and corralled the Dodge back toward Rte.495 where Tpr. Mark Robbins assumed the pursuit. The chase continued through Chelmsford, Billerica, Bedford and into Lexington where stop sticks deflated three of the SUV’s tires. The suspect fled onto Rte.128 and was brought to a stop a short distance later with the assistance of a blocking tractor-trailer.

The operator was placed under arrest for multiple motor vehicle violations, as well as assault by means of a dangerous weapon and resisting arrest. 

Trooper Mark Walsh was dispatched to the Rte. 84 rest area in Sturbridge to investigate a report of a subject masturbating in public. Upon his arrival, and with the assistance of Tpr. Kondell, he located a truck driver who was the reporting party. The truck driver identified the suspect and provided the troopers with a written statement that the suspect had approached his truck and masturbated for about fifteen minutes. The suspect stated that he had been urinating, facing in the opposite direction. The troopers then arrested the suspect for open and gross lewdness. During booking, the subject admitted to having masturbated as the truck driver had stated.

On Thanksgiving eve, Tpr. John Morris observed an Oldsmobile on Stafford St. in Worcester with a defective headlight. He then effected a traffic stop of the car for defective equipment. As the trooper approached the car to notify its two occupants of the equipment problem, the Oldsmobile suddenly sped off. Tpr. Morris returned to his blue bird and gave chase. The Olds accelerated up to 80 MPH and weaving in and out of traffic using the opposing travel lane to pass other cars. The fleeing suspects attempted to lose the trooper by making a series of quick turns onto various side streets. Realizing that they couldn’t shake the trooper, they bailed out of their moving vehicle and fled on foot into the woods. Tpr. Morris secured the scene and awaited the assistance of other troopers. Tpr. Pat Robinson and K-9 Max arrived and tracked the suspects into the woods, locating the operator of the Olds as he hid, lying in a stream. He was then arrested for refusing to stop for a police officer. Tpr. Morris subsequently discovered that the eighteen-year-old subject was high on marijuana and additionally charged him with operating under the influence. 

On one November morning, at about zero-dark-thirty, Tpr. Steven Hennigan stopped a Ford Tempo for a defective tail light on Rte.12 in Webster. He approached the car to speak with the operator. The driver had other plans and sped off. Tpr. Hennigan then pursued the Ford into a grocery store parking lot, where the driver exited the Tempo and began to run up a hill. Tpr. Hennigan (no stranger to running, or singing cadence for that matter) ran around the hill, capturing the suspect as he attempted to hide behind a house. The subject was obviously intoxicated and later blew a .11 on the Breathalyzer. He also was held on an outstanding felony warrant.

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