B&E
in Progress (St.
Pius Church)
Lieutenant
Christopher Reddy
On
July 6, 2002, at approximately 1812 hours, Officer Timothy Ferrari dispatched
Officer Steven Castle and Officer Paul Holey (Car 12) to St. Pius Church on
Maple Street on a call of a B&E in progress. An eyewitness telephoned the
station and stated that a male subject wearing a light blue shirt had broken a
window and entered the church.
Lieutenant
Christopher Reddy was off duty, but heard the call and responded, since he was
in the area. He was the first to arrive on the scene, and discovered a broken
window and a ripped screen on the right side of the church. Because Lieutenant
Reddy was not on duty, he did not have a portable radio, but he maintained
communication with Sergeant Edward Shinnick at the station via the Nextel.
Officer
Castle and Officer Holey arrived at the scene, and set up a perimeter until
more help arrived. Lieutenant Reddy attempted to contact someone who had a key
to the church in order to make entry. Officer Richard Courtney and Officer
John Meaney (Car 10) and Lieutenant Robert Carter (Unit 70) arrived on the
scene to assist. Officer Courtney
and Officer Meaney took up the perimeter positions and Officer Castle then
entered the church via the same window as the suspect was reported to enter.
He then opened the door for Officer Holey and they began a search of the
building.
Sergeant
Edward Nardone took up the Nextel communications with Lieutenant Reddy and
Sergeant Shinnick then responded to the scene. When he arrived, he was also
admitted into the church by Officer Castle to assist with the search for the
suspect.
The
witness remained on the line to the station and reported that she did not see
the suspect exit the building. While searching the upper portion of the
church, Officer Holey discovered opened drawers and an opened refrigerator
door, in the area behind the altar. Sergeant Shinnick began searching the
kitchen area in the lower portion of the church and discovered a pair of black
leather gloves in one of the kitchen cabinets. He then located a male subject
hiding in the milk refrigerator. Lieutenant Reddy, Lieutenant Carter, Officer
Holey and Officer Castle converged on the area, and assisted Sergeant Shinnick
in placing the individual into custody. During a pat frisk of the suspect,
Officer Holey discovered a flashlight in his pants pocket. The suspect was
identified, and Officer Holey later spoke to the witness who then verified
that the individual in custody was the person that she saw breaking into the
church.
Officer
Castle and Officer Holey transported the suspect to the station, while Officer
Courtney and Officer Meaney attempted to locate a custodian from the church to
secure the building. Officer Ferrari was finally able to contact Father Rossi
via the Swampscott Police Department and Father Rossi responded to the church
to lock the building.
Officer
Ferrari, along with Officer Raymond Guillermo, subsequently interviewed the
suspect, who implicated himself in approximately forty-five church break-ins
and/or attempted break-ins, one break-in at the Boys Club and one attempted
break-in at the Pollo Caribe Restaurant. The suspect also rode around the city
with these two officers and pointed out the breaks in which he was involved,
told how he gained entry to each place, and reported how many times each
location was broken into and what was taken. He also told the officers
information regarding a partner that he said taught him how to do the breaks.
Over
the past several months, countless man-hours have been spent on investigating,
reporting and guarding against these church breaks. The arrest of this suspect
was due to the combined efforts of all of the officers involved working
together, as well as the help of an attentive citizen of Lynn.
Despite
the fact that he was off-duty at the time, and did not have a portable radio
in his possession nor his firearm, Lieutenant Christopher Reddy demonstrated
extreme courage by being the first officer to arrive on the scene. He
maintained constant communication using his Nextel, and actively participated
in the capture of the suspect, despite the fact that he was unarmed. I hereby
order that he be commended for his actions. I further order that the following
officers receive letters of appreciation for their teamwork and
professionalism as they worked cooperatively, along with a concerned citizen
of Lynn to capture this suspect: Lieutenant R. Carter, Sergeant E.
Shinnick, Sergeant E. Nardone, Officer T. Ferrari, Officer R.
Guillermo, Officer S. Castle, Officer P. Holey, Officer R. Courtney, and
Officer J. Meaney.
Capture
of a violent individual who was threatening his own life and the lives of the
officers and firefighters at the scene.
Sergeant
Peter Holey
Officer Michael McHale
Officer Daniel Morales
Officer William Sharpe
Officer Alvin Wolfe
Officer Paul Wonoski
On August 19, 2002, at
0708 hours, Lynn Control received a 911 call about a suicidal person at a
Broadway location. Sergeant Peter Holey was the first officer to arrive on the
scene, where he observed members of the Lynn Fire Department exiting the
house. Captain Mike Raimo (Lynn Fire Dept.) advised Sergeant Holey that he had
pulled his personnel from the scene because they encountered a man with a
knife threatening to do harm to any firefighter or police officer that came
near him.
At
that time Officer Paul Wonoski and Officer Michael McHale (Car 14) arrived and
were instructed by Sergeant Holey to enter the house, make an assessment and
report back to him. Officer Daniel Morales and Officer William Sharpe (Car 11)
were ordered to the scene for the deployment of Special Weapons. Officer
Sharpe was given the Sage “Less Lethal” 37 mm launcher and Officer Morales
was given the Remington 870 12-gauge shotgun. Sergeant Holey, Officer Morales
and Officer Sharpe proceeded into the house where they observed Officer McHale
and Officer Wonoski calming speaking to an enraged naked male who was holding
a large knife in his left hand. This individual repeatedly threatened the
officers with bodily injury and death if they came near him. He additionally
stated that he had several firearms at his disposal and that none of the
officers there would see their families again.
Sergeant
Edward Nardone arrived on the scene and relayed to Sergeant Holey that he was
familiar with the man, and that this individual had possessed firearms in the
past. Information was also received from the man’s father that he had been
abusing Oxycontin and was most likely under the influence of the drug at that
time.
Officers
continued to calmly speak to the individual, urging him to put down the knife
so that they could get him the help that he needed. Officer Morales and
Officer Sharpe were at the bottom of a narrow staircase with their weapons in
the firing position while Sergeant Holey, Officer McHale and Officer Wonoski
took turns trying to negotiate with the man, who was still at the top of the
stairs waving the knife around and continually threatening the lives of the
officers on the scene. Officer Sharpe fired his Sage launcher, striking the
individual in the left shoulder, but after a short pause, the man showed
little effect from the projectile.
Officer
Alvin Wolfe and Officer David Harney (Car 10) arrived on the scene to assist
along with Officer William Rogers and Officer Oscar Flores (Car 8). Officer
Wolfe climbed onto a porch roof and reported to Sergeant Holey that he could
see the individual through a partially opened window, Because the Sage
appeared to have little effect on the man, Sergeant Holey ordered Officer
Wolfe to cut the window screen and introduce O.C. Spray into the second floor
of the house. The man promptly informed the police that “he eats that stuff
for lunch all the time”. However, he began to choke, cough and wheeze
loudly. He again appeared at the top of the stairs and threatened the officers
and was shot with the Sage a second time by Officer Sharpe.
Sergeant
Nardone, who was coordinating the exterior scene, requested a second Sage,
which he brought into the house for deployment. Officer Wonoski then took the
shotgun and moved to Officer Morales’ position and Officer Morales took the
second Sage to the rooftop where Officer Wolfe was located. At that time, the
individual was armed with a baseball bat and had begun smashing out windows
and throwing objects, including air conditioners, at the officers who were
maintaining the perimeter.
Using
the hole that was cut in the screen by Officer Wolfe, Officer Morales caught
the suspect by surprise and fired his Sage. The man attempted to evade the
projectile by ducking, however, by doing so; it struck him in the face,
knocking him to the ground. Officer Morales fired a second projectile, hitting
him in the leg. The individual then crawled into a closet. Through a series of
verbal commands, Officer Morales was able to convince him to drop the knife,
show his hands, and move to the center of the room until Officer McHale and
Officer Wonoski entered the second floor bedroom and took him into custody.
Sergeant
Holey, Officer McHale, Officer Morales, Officer Sharpe, and Officer Wonoski
exhibited professionalism and extreme bravery as they captured a violent
individual who was threatening their lives, and took him into custody using
the minimum amount of force necessary under the circumstances present. I
hereby order that these officers be commended for their actions, with a copy
of this Commendation to be placed in their personnel files.
I
further order that Sergeant Nardone, Officer Flores, Officer Harney, and
Officer Rogers are issued letters of appreciation for their efforts.
Saved the
life of a suicidal individual
Officer
Timothy Magner
On June 27,
2002, at approximately 1918 hours, Sergeant E. Shinnick, Officer T. Magner,
Officer R. Tinkham, Officer S. Pohle, Officer T. Hallisey, Officer S. Thach
and Officer J. Furtado responded to a Spencer Street location on a report of a
man threatening suicide with a knife.
Upon arrival, the officers were
informed of the name of the suicidal individual, whose mother stated that he
had grabbed a knife out of the kitchen and ran upstairs to his bedroom. She
said that she followed him upstairs and saw him holding the knife to his
throat, threatening to kill himself. Officer Magner immediately went up the
stairs only to find the bedroom door shut and locked. He began a conversation
with the man, who was very agitated. As Officer Tinkham, Officer Pohle and
Officer Hallisey arrived, they took up positions outside the bedroom door with
Officer Magner. Officer Thach covered the rear of the house while Officer
Furtado worked crowd control in the front of the house. Officer Magner
continued the conversation with the distraught individual, trying to calm him
down.
Sergeant Shinnick and the other
officers on the scene gathered more information regarding the suicidal
individual from his mother and grandmother. They were told that the man was
despondent over a failed relationship and also learned that he had attempted
suicide a year earlier. The station was contacted, Tri City Mental Health was
notified, and a Section 12 “Pink Paper” was issued.
The
individual then informed Officer Magner that he had a knife against his throat
and if the officers tried to open the door to the bedroom, the knife would
stab his throat. Officer Magner assured him that the officers were not going
to go barging in, and kept trying to calm him down. At one point, the
individual’s mother was allowed to talk to him in an effort to resolve the
situation, but it backfired and the man became more agitated. Officer Magner
patiently calmed him down a second time, but he still refused to come out.
Lieutenant Downey was
contacted who in turn contacted Deputy Chief Coppinger, who authorized the use
of a sage launcher. Lieutenant Downey also contacted Tri City Mental Health to
have their personnel respond to the scene.
The individual’s sister later
arrived, and requested to speak to him. The man began to get agitated again
and Officer Magner again took control to calm him down a third time. Officer
Magner continued to speak to the distraught individual and after approximately
1 hour and 15 minutes of negotiations, the man finally agreed to put down the
knife, open the door and go to the hospital with the officers to seek
treatment. Officer Magner promised him that he would accompany him to the
hospital. Officer Magner, along with Officer Hallisey accompanied the
individual to the hospital and stayed with him until they felt comfortable
leaving him with the hospital security and that he did not pose a threat to
himself.
The individual’s mother later
called the station to thank the officers for their efforts. She stated that
she was extremely pleased with the way the situation was handled.
Officer
Magner displayed a great deal of patience, professionalism and courage by
standing for over an hour calmly negotiating with this armed and emotionally
disturbed individual. He showed true compassion by accompanying the man to the
hospital and comforting him until treatment was arranged. I hereby order that
Officer Magner be commended for his efforts, with a copy of this Commendation
to placed in his personnel file.
Saved the
life of a suicidal individual
Sergeant Glen
Deveau
Officer Peter Alexander
Officer Robert Deveau
Officer Charles Griffin
Officer Henry Wojewodzic
On April 27, 2002 at approximately 20:24 hours, Sergeant G. Deveau, Officers
C. Griffin, P. Alexander, H. Wojewodzic, and R. Deveau responded to a West
Baltimore Street location on a report of an unknown medical situation. This
was then updated to a report of a person threatening to commit suicide. They
also received information that the person threatening suicide might have a
gun, and had stated during a telephone conversation to his sister that he was
"going to blow his head off". The individual was also identified.
When the officers arrived at the West Baltimore Street dwelling, they were met
by a friend of the victim, who also reported the conversation that the victim
had with his sister. He also stated that the victim was alone in the
apartment. The victim engaged in a brief conversation with his friend before
breaking off all communication. Tri-City Personnel were contacted and advised
that they would not be able to get there for at least an hour. The officers
continued to speak to the victim from their position outside of the apartment,
but there was no communication or movement coming from inside.
At this point, Sergeant Deveau decided to make a forced entry into the
apartment. He further decided that a tactical entry would be employed and held
a briefing for all personnel at the scene, which by then included fire,
medical and police personnel. At that time, assignments/positions were
assigned and different cases senarios were discussed, depending upon whether
the suspect was armed, unarmed, armed and threatening, etc. It was decided
that Fire Department personnel would pry open the door from a position
providing the most cover while medical personnel would stand by, out of harm's
way. Sergeant Deveau, Officer Griffin and Officer Alexander would be the entry
team. Sergeant Deveau would use a tactical shield and provide illumination
while Officers Griffin and Alexander would follow and provide firepower, if
needed. Officers R. Deveau and Wojewodzic would take up positions outside the
apartment and provide security and backup if needed.
When the officers entered the apartment, they found the victim unconscious,
with what appeared to be self-inflicted knife wounds to the chest. Medical
personnel on the scene believed that the wounds were life threatening and
immediately transported the victim to the hospital. He was listed in critical
condition several hours after the incident, but hospital personnel believed
that he would survive the injuries.
The officers who responded to the scene displayed a high level of
professionalism by utilizing their skills at the highest level in which they
were trained. Sergeant Deveau, who had been trained at a higher tactical
level, assumed a position of leadership by taking control of the situation and
personnel available. Because of the actions of the officers involved, the life
of the victim was saved.
Evacuation of residents
from two burning buildings
Officer Todd Burton
Officer John Harkness
Officer David Harney
Officer Titou Kim
Officer Edward Monahan
Officer Ezequiel Ortiz
Officer Scott Wakeham
Officer Paul Wonoski
On March 27, 2002, at approximately 03:12 hours, Officer T. Burton and Officer
T. Kim were stopped by a motorist who report a house fire on Laighton Street.
The officers immediately notified the station and responded to the Laighton
Street location, where they found a rapidly spreading fire engulfing one
dwelling, and the side of another dwelling beginning to catch fire. Officer
Burton, Officer Kim, along with Officer J. Harkness and Officer E. Ortiz, who
also arrived on the scene, forced their way into the building and began
evacuating several young women with their infants and toddlers. The officers
carried several young children from the building.
As the burning dwelling on Laighton Street was being evacuated, Officer S.
Wakeham and Officer P. Wonoski arrived along with Car 10, (Officer D. Harney
and Officer E. Monahan). The officers observed that the fire was beginning to
spread to a home on Henry Avenue. The officers raced on foot to that location
and found it burning as well. The building appeared to be occupied, and the
officers immediately forced the door open and began searching for occupants.
Because the neighborhood was so densely populated and the fire was moving
quickly, Sergeant P. Holey ordered the evacuation of two other three-family
dwellings. Officer S. Wakeham, Officer P. Wonoski, Officer D. Harney, Officer
E. Monahan, along with Car 12 (Officer E. Tansey and Officer M. Surette),
evacuated the two houses. At this time the Fire Department arrived and struck
a second and third alarm.
Because of the immediate response and heroic actions of the officers who
entered these burning buildings, tragedy was undoubtedly averted. The
professionalism and compassion that these officers displayed was a credit to
the city of Lynn and reflects positively on the Lynn Police Department.
As a result of their actions, Officer Todd Burton, Officer John Harkness,
Officer David Harney, Officer Titou Kim, Officer Edward Monahan, Officer
Ezequiel Ortiz, Officer Scott Wakeham, and Officer Paul Wonoski will receive commendations
to be placed in their personnel files.
Sergeant Peter Holey, Officer Michael Surette, and Officer Edward Tansey will
receive Letters of Recognition to be placed in their personnel files.
