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Life Saving Water Rescue
Officer
Geovanni Ruano
On September 10, 2004, at approximately 1832 hours, Lynn Control
received a telephone call reporting that a windsurfer was struggling in the
water in an area somewhere offshore of Lynn Beach, adjacent to the causeway
between Lynn and Nahant.
The caller further stated that the windsurfer was trying to make it
back to the beach, but was having no success. Control immediately dispatched
several units to the area, and also notified Lynn Fire and the Nahant Police.
Officer Geovanni Ruano (Car 9) was the first to arrive on the scene,
along with Lieutenant Thomas Hutton of the Nahant Police Department. The
officers observed an individual in the water approximately 200 yards from the
beach. The male victim appeared to be in distress and was going under the
water. Officer Ruano and Lieutenant Hutton determined that due to the
victim’s deteriorating condition: they could not wait for the Fire
Department to arrive and entered the water.
Both Officer Ruano and Lieutenant Hutton swam out to the struggling
individual and rescued him. The victim was brought to shore, where Lynn Fire
Department personnel treated him at the scene.
Shortly after the rescue, Lieutenant Hutton contacted Lieutenant Flynn,
Division 1 Commanding Officer. He wanted to thank the Lynn officers who
responded to the scene to assist with the rescue, and specifically praised
Officer Ruano for entering the water without regard for his own safety.
Off-duty response to a
domestic argument involving an armed and violent individual Officer Michael Surette
On
September 16, 2004, at 1638 hours, while off duty and at home, Officer Michael
Surette overheard a domestic argument at a nearby residence. He immediately
called the station to request that a Route Car respond to the scene. While
waiting for the cruiser, Officer Surette heard a female begin to scream for
help, and determined that the situation required an immediate response. He
went to the second floor location to intervene, and found broken glass strewn
all over the apartment, and a female victim on the floor. Officer Surette
issued verbal commands to the male suspect to back up and calm down, but the
man ignored him, and gave Officer Surette a two-handed shove to the chest.
Officer Surette then tried to restrain the suspect, and during the course of
the ensuing struggle, the officer observed a loaded firearm within the man’s
reach. Officer Surette was able to grab the weapon and toss it out of the
suspect’s reach, and continued his attempts to restrain the suspect until
other officers arrived on the scene, and the violent individual was finally
taken into custody.
Pursuit and capture of an armed robbery suspect
Officer
Peter Alexander
On July 17, 2004, at 2202 hours, Lynn Control broadcast information
regarding an armed robbery, which has just taken place at the White Hen Pantry
located in Austin Square. Officer Peter Alexander and Officer James Wladkowski
quickly responded to the scene, took the report and immediately relayed a
description of the suspect vehicle, as well as the registration information.
The officers also reported that this vehicle had fled down Summer Street from
Austin Square towards the direction of Western Avenue.
Officer Timothy Hallisey (Car 7) was patrolling the area of Summer
Street and Linden Street when he observed a car matching the description of
the suspect vehicle pull behind the White Eagle Café on Summer Street.
Officer Hallisey then drove towards River Street and saw the suspect vehicle
pull out in front of him. At this time he also noted that the registration
matched the number that was broadcast earlier. Officer Hallisey notified Lynn
Control that he was behind the suspect motor vehicle, as the driver began to
turn into the rear parking lot of the GE Credit Union. The vehicle came to a
stop and Officer Hallisey activated his emergency lights and public address
system and ordered the operator to shut off the vehicle and throw the keys out
the window. At this time, several cruisers also pulled into the parking lot to
assist. The operator of the suspect vehicle refused to comply with Officer
Hallisey’s orders, backed up and suddenly drove forward, crashing through
the parking lot’s chain link fence. A motor vehicle pursuit was then
initiated, involving several Lynn Police vehicles. Officer Korng Kouch and
Officer John R. White located the suspect vehicle after he evaded Officer
Hallisey, and became the primary pursuit unit as the suspect fled Lynn. Also
participating were Sergeant William Sharpe, who was monitoring the pursuit,
Sergeant James Carroll, Sergeant Lucas Dean, Officer Robert Sirois and Officer
Mark Holey. The pursuit of the suspect vehicle was ended at 2230 hours near
the rotary at Route 60 in Revere, when the operator lost control of his
vehicle and drove into the guardrails.
The
operator was taken into custody in Revere, was later transported to Lynn,
where he was positively identified as the suspect in the robbery of the White
Hen. Recovered from the suspect’s vehicle was a fully loaded Ruger mini-14
assault rifle, which had been stolen during a housebreak in Nashua, New
Hampshire, the mask used by the suspect during the robbery, and the money
taken from the White Hen Pantry. The suspect was also subsequently charged by
the Saugus Police Department for an armed robbery that had occurred on Route 1
approximately 45 minutes prior to the White Hen robbery in Lynn.
Apprehension of a dangerous individual who had a prior record of burglary and assault.
Sergeant
Michael Vail
On June 21, 2004, at 0451 hours, a female
resident of a Dearborn Avenue dwelling called 911 to report a B&E in
progress to her first floor apartment. The caller also provided the dispatcher
with a description of the male suspect who she said was inside her home.
Within
seconds, Officer Robert Avery and Officer Christopher Hagerty (Car 17) arrived
on the scene, but the suspect fled out the window just before the officers
reached the victim’s residence. Sergeant
Michael Vail arrived, and immediately coordinated a search of the immediate
area. While walking on the railroad tracks across from the crime scene,
Sergeant Vail quickly observed someone move in the distance ahead of him. The
individual then fled over a fence. Officer Ronald Brown, Officer Timothy
Hallisey and Officer Michael McHale also arrived on the scene and joined
Officer Avery and Officer Hagerty in a search of the area where Sergeant Vail
had already spotted the suspect. Sergeant Vail observed him again, and a foot
chase involving Sergeant Vail, Officer Brown and Officer McHale resulted in
the suspect being captured and placed into custody. The victim subsequently
identified the individual in custody as the male suspect who had entered her
apartment. The suspect was a homeless man from Boston, who had previously
served state prison time for seven burglaries, and had been convicted twice
for Indecent A&B on children. The victim reported that there were two
children in the home at the time of the break-in and there was a later report
of another housebreak at a Holyoke Street location with the same mode of
entry.
Because
of the immediate response and high degree of professionalism exhibited by all
of the responding officers, a suspect with a prior record of burglary and
assault was taken into custody. Sergeant Vail’s coordination of the search
of the area, his keen observations of the suspect, along with the teamwork by
of all of the officers on the scene led to the swift capture of this dangerous
individual.
Pursued and captured an armed suspect of a violent domestic incident
Officer
Glenn Dunnigan
On May 5, 2004, at approximately 1310 hours, Officer Glenn Dunnigan
(Car 10) was on patrol in a single man unit, when he observed a male party run
from the area of City Hall and head across the street toward a silver vehicle
parked in the direction of Market Street, in front of the VNA building. As he
observed this individual and noted his unusual behavior, Dispatch provided a
general broadcast that an assault involving a knife had just taken place in
the City Clerk’s office at City Hall.
Officer Dunnigan suspected that the male he had just observed was involved in
this incident, and immediately drove to Market Street where he quickly located
the suspect vehicle. The operator of the vehicle disregarded several traffic
signals on Market Street in an attempt to flee the area. Officer Dunnigan
signaled with his cruiser lights and his sirens for the operator to stop. When
he refused to stop, Officer Dunnigan advised Dispatch that he was engaged in
active pursuit and followed the vehicle out to the Lynnway. Sergeant D. Brown
monitored Officer Dunnigan’s radio broadcasts as he continued to follow the
suspect vehicle on the Lynnway.
As Officer Dunnigan was pursuing the vehicle, he was able to provide suspect
and vehicle descriptions, as well as a license plate number. He calmly
reported the traffic conditions, speeds traveled, intersections and landmarks.
The suspect vehicle traveled down the Lynnway towards Revere at approximately
60 miles per hour, as Officer Dunnigan continued to follow. The operator of
the suspect vehicle then turned off into the Building 19 parking lot. There,
he drove towards the front of the building and crashed into a parked car.
The suspect then exited the vehicle and ran into the store, with Officer
Dunnigan following on foot. It was believed that the fleeing individual still
might have been armed with a knife. It was later recovered from the suspect
vehicle. Officer Dunnigan caught up to the fleeing individual and ordered him,
at gunpoint, to stop. Sergeant Brown, Detective J. Chadbourne, Officer C.
Hagerty, Officer T. Hazard, Officer R. Avery, and Officer S. Emery also
arrived within seconds of the termination of the pursuit. With the assistance
of officers on the scene, the suspect was cuffed and taken into custody
without further incident.
At
this same time, Officer J. Meaney dispatched Officer T. Holland and Officer J.
Geary to City Hall. Sergeant D. Kasle and Lieutenant (then Sergeant) P. Tansey
were nearby and were the first to arrive on the scene. They discovered that a
mother and a newborn baby had been the victims of domestic abuse, and
kidnapping by her estranged husband, which had begun in Peabody. The mother
had a stab wound to her hand. She used a ruse in order to get herself and her
baby to a public place and escape her estranged husband.
Special Award given by the United States Postal Inspection Service Lieutenant Christopher Reddy Lynn Police Detective Lt. Chris Reddy assigned to the Criminal Investigations Division of the Lynn Police was the recipient of an award issued by the United States Postal Inspection Service. In a letter to Lynn Police Chief John Suslak US Postal Inspector Ruth Mendonca wrote: “The Massachusetts Identity Theft / Financial Crimes Task Force had recently concluded a national identity theft investigation. The perpetrators successfully gained $242,000.00 in bank funds. The critical event in dismantling this group was due to Lt. Christopher Reddy. In December 2002, Lynn Police Department uniformed officers arrested a suspect for attempting to negotiate a check stolen from the US Mails. Lt. Reddy conducted the post-arrest interview of the suspect, and overcame the suspect’s initial denials. Lt. Reddy was able to determine the check came from a Nigerian individual with Lynn ties. A follow-up investigation by the Task Force linked the Lynn Nigerian to California sources. It was established that the California sources sent negotiable instruments to the suspect to be cashed at banks in the Lynn area. The majority of the funds from these fraudulent check transactions were to be sent to the sources in California. Throughout the one year duration of this investigation, Lt. Reddy provided valuable assistance in locating and identifying the main suspect in Lynn. It was determined that the defendant was on Federal Probation during the operation of this check-cashing scheme. On February 24, 2004, the defendant was sentenced in Federal Court to 18 months incarceration and 18 months supervised release. Two additional suspects were arrested in July 2003, by Postal Inspectors in California and charged in Federal Court for their involvement in the scheme involving the Washington Mutual Bank. In conclusion, Lt. Reddy’s initial efforts in what some would view as a routine case, lead to the disruption of a major Identity Theft Ring. Please express the appreciation of all Task Force members (US Postal Inspection Service; Massachusetts State Police; and Boston Police Department) to Lt. Reddy.”
Apprehension of two bank robbery suspects
Detective
Michael Ferraro
On March 22, 2004, ATF Special Agent John Kelter forwarded information
that an individual or individuals were possibly planning a bank robbery in the
North Shore area. Updated information was later passed along, including the
identity of the primary suspect, a previously convicted bank robber who was on
bail following another robbery. Our department also received information
regarding a specific location in Lynn where the suspect planned to go
following the robbery.
On
March 23, 2004, at approximately 1158 hours, Swampscott Police reported that a
Citizen’s Bank in their town had just been robbed, Based upon the previous
day’s intelligence supplied by Special Agent Kelter, Detective Oren Wright
and Detective Michael Ferraro, along with Mass State Trooper John Foster went
to the reported Lynn location where they observed an individual who matched
the description of the suspect standing outside of a residence. The officers
then witnessed him motion to another individual in a nearby vehicle. After
observing the officers approach, he began to flee the area, through the
surrounding neighborhood. Detective Wright began pursuing the suspect on foot,
and ordered him to stop. The suspect threw several hundred dollars in U.S.
Currency at Detective Wright and continued to flee. Detective Wright
eventually caught up with him and placed him into custody without further
incident. At the same time, Trooper Foster and Detective Ferraro positioned
their unmarked cruisers to block in the suspect vehicle. The driver of the
vehicle attempted to drive towards Trooper Foster and Detective Ferraro, who
had both exited their vehicles. Both officers drew their service weapons and
succeeded in placing the second suspect into custody with no injuries or
violence. Monetary evidence was seized from the operator and it was also
learned that the motor vehicle had been stolen. Shortly after being taken into
custody, the suspects confessed to the robbery and evidence taken from the
scene in Swampscott corroborated their involvement in the incident.
Detectives Ferraro and Wright, along with Trooper Foster displayed the
highest degree of professionalism and dedication to duty as they followed up
on the information they had received from Special Agent Kelter. Without regard
for their personal safety, they pursued and captured two dangerous robbery
suspects with no harm coming to themselves, the suspects, or innocent
bystanders. It should also be noted that due to the diligent efforts of
Special Agent Kelter in forwarding this important information, a dangerous and
active career criminal and his accomplice were removed from the streets.
Apprehension
of an armed murder suspect
Officer
Shawn Hogan
On February 13, 2004, during the First
Division’s tour of duty, the Boston Police Department’s Gang Unit received
information that a murder suspect was staying at a basement apartment located
on Newhall Street. The Boston Police Gang Unit, along with Lynn Police CID and
the Lynn Police Gang Unit began conducting a surveillance of the male suspect.
Boston Police had obtained a warrant for murder against the suspect, and the
Boston Police Gang Unit was waiting for the arrival of Boston Police Homicide
detectives with a search warrant. Preparations were also being made for an
entry into the apartment by the Boston Police Entry and Apprehension Team.
At approximately 2224 Hours, the officers conducting the surveillance
reported that a male subject fitting the description of the suspect had just
fled the building and was on foot in the neighborhood. A clothing description
of the suspect was provided, all available Lynn units were assembled, and a
search of the neighborhood and the surrounding areas was initiated.
Officer Shawn Hogan and Officer James Randazza (Car 15) were patrolling
the Central Square area, when they saw a taxi turning onto Willow Street from
Monroe Street. At that point Officer Hogan observed a male seated in the rear
of the taxi, who matched the description of the suspect. A stop of the taxi
was then conducted on Willow Street and Officer Randazza observed the male
seated in the rear of the taxi move around and bend over slightly. At that
point, both officers had their firearms drawn but held down at their sides.
Officer Randazza informed Officer Hogan of the back seat passenger’s
movements, and Officer Hogan recognized the male as the murder suspect.
Officer Randazza then placed a call to Lynn Dispatch for assistance. Both
officers had their guns trained on the suspect, and strongly instructed
everyone in the vehicle to keep their hands up. Officer Hogan subsequently
ordered the suspect to unlock the passenger door and exit the vehicle. The
suspect complied and was immediately placed on the ground by Officer Hogan and
Officer Randazza. During a pat-frisk for weapons, a loaded Glock 9-millimeter
firearm was recovered from the front waistband of the individual’s pants.
The suspect was then taken into custody and transported to the station without
incident. He was booked, printed and later released to Boston Police Homicide
detectives. According to Boston Homicide Detective Sergeant James Wyse, the
recovered firearm is believed to be the firearm used in the murder.
Due to the diligence, attention to detail and extreme professionalism
exhibited by Officer Hogan and Officer Randazza, an armed and dangerous
suspect was apprehended, with no serious injury to anyone on the scene.
The officers found themselves in a potentially deadly encounter, but
were able to take control of the suspect by using the minimum amount of force
necessary under the circumstances present.
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