Mass. police supervisor on leave after driving retired officer facing OUI charge home, police say
Acton police have placed a supervisor on administrative leave in connection with an investigation of a retired police officer from another community who faces an OUI charge, the police department said.
At around 12:41 a.m. on Saturday, two Acton police officers went to a liquor store parking lot on Main Street, the department said in a statement. The officers saw a 2024 Toyota Highlander with a severely flat passenger-side front tire running in the parking lot, with two people inside.
The officers, who requested that a supervisor meet with them at the parking lot, approached and the driver stepped out of the SUV, police said. The officers noticed the driver, a 64-year-old retired police officer from another community, had the smell of alcohol on his breath and saw an open can of Twisted Tea sitting in the SUV's cup holder.
When the supervisor arrived, he took the driver home in Acton, police said. Another officer took the Acton man's passenger, a 55-year-old Acton woman, also to her home.
Acton police officials, including Chief James Cogan and Lt. Ed Lawton, decided to file two charges against the Acton man: operating under the influence and possession of an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle, police said. He was expected to appear in Concord District Court. No criminal complaint was issued.
The supervisor was then placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation to look into how the supervisor handled the incident, police said.
Cogan said in the statement that the law applies to 'current and former members of law enforcement agencies.'
'Our public rightly demands that we enforce the law evenly, and we will conduct a full and thorough review of the handling of the situation that unfolded early Saturday morning,' Cogan said.
More local crime stories
Read the original article on MassLive.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Two innocent teens wounded in broad daylight NYC shooting, third bystander narrowly missed
Two innocent teenagers were shot and a third bystander was narrowly missed when a gunman opened fire on a Bronx street in broad daylight Thursday, according to police and law enforcement sources. The pair of 17-year-old boys was in front of a five-story walk-up at 265 E. 176th St. in the Tremont section of the borough when the shots rang out around 1:20 p.m., police said. One of the teens was shot in the right arm, the other in the neck, police and sources said. Neither boy appeared to be the intended target of the shooter, but were struck in the crossfire, based on preliminary details, sources said. A bullet also went crashing through a Toyota Highlander that Christian Santos, 44, had parked just moments before. Santos got out of the car to go to work when the bullets began flying. One went blasting through the rear of the car and into the driver's seat, striking the area where his head was moments before, he told The Post. Paramedics rushed the two teens to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, where they were listed in stable condition early Friday, according to the FDNY. The gunman, a male dressed in all black, fled the scene on foot, sources said. There have been no arrests and the shooting remains under investigation. So far this year there have been 15 shooting victims and 12 shooting incidents in the 46th precinct where Thursday's shooting occurred, according to the most recent NYPD statistics. Those numbers are a slight increase from the same time last year. Overall, the shooting numbers are down nearly 24% across the Bronx, but the borough was shocked when another teenage innocent bystander, Evette Jeffrey, 16, was shot in the head and killed in May.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Judge temporarily blocks deportation of family of man charged in Boulder terror attack
A federal judge in Colorado on Wednesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting the wife and five children of the suspect in a fire-bomb attack on a demonstration to support the Israeli hostages in Gaza. U.S. District Court Judge Gordon Gallagher said in an order that deporting the family without adequate process could cause "irreparable harm." Lawyers representing the family of the Egyptian national charged in Sunday's attack, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, sued the U.S. government on Wednesday, seeking to win the family members' release from custody and block their deportation, according to court documents. The number of "identified victims" in the fiery attack has risen to 15, Boulder police said Wednesday. The victims in what authorities are calling a targeted terror attack are 25 to 88 years old, eight female and seven male, police said in a social media post. They were injured when a man on Sunday tossed Molotov Cocktails at about 20 people marching to remember the captives still held by Hamas after the Oct. 7, 2023 border assault. Soliman will appear before a Colorado judge Thursday to hear the raft of charges he could face. Those charges include 16 counts of attempted murder, 18 counts of possession of incendiary devices and related offenses, Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said. The attempted murder counts alone are punishable by up to 384 years in prison, he said. He also faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if found guilty on a federal hate crime charge. Soliman told investigators he wanted to "kill all Zionist people" and planned the attack for a year, according to court documents. He said he waited until after his daughter's high school graduation, which took place May 29. His timing may provide little solace for the family − his wife and children were taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday and could be ushered out of the country within days. Suspect's family detained: Wife, 5 children deportation Jewish community on edge: Amid ongoing attacks, Jewish people are afraid. Is anyone listening? | Opinion Soliman, a native of Egypt who lives in Colorado Springs, came to the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2022 and requested asylum, Homeland Security officials said. A work authorization granted in 2023 also expired. Now the visas of his wife and five children have been revoked, multiple media outlets including the New York Times reported. "Today, DHS and ICE are taking the family of suspected Boulder, Colorado, terrorist, and illegal alien, Mohamed Soliman, into ICE custody," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday in a post on X. "This terrorist will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We are investigating to what extent his family knew about this heinous attack, if they had knowledge of it, or if they provided support to it." President Donald Trump has issued a travel ban blocking the entry into the U.S. of foreign nationals from 12 countries and partially restricting travel from foreign nationals of seven other nations. "As President, I must act to protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people," Trump said in a proclamation he signed June 4 imposing the ban. The ban prohibits travel into the U.S. from foreign nationals from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Trump issued partial travel suspensions for nationals from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Not on the list are Soliman's native Egypt and Kuwait, where he lived before moving to the U.S. - Joey Garrison FBI and police officials said the family has cooperated with investigators, and Soliman said his family had no knowledge of his plans. That may not be enough to allow them to stay in the U.S. The White House posted a message Tuesday detailing the family's likely fate: "Six One-Way Tickets for Mohamed's Wife and Five Kids. Final Boarding Call Coming Soon." The post indicated the deportation could happen as soon as that night, but Wednesday's judicial order has granted the family a reprieve for now. Who is Mohamed Soliman? Records reveal Colorado terror suspect tried to purchase a gun A vigil honoring the victims of the attack was set for Wednesday evening. "Healing begins with coming together in community," the Boulder Jewish Community Center said in a statement on its website. "Please join us for 'Coming Together: A Community Gathering.'" The statement adds that "safety and security are our top priority" and lists enhance security plans, including an increased police presence and "hired security professionals." "Please remain vigilant and report suspicious activity," the statement adds. "If you see something, say something." The 30th annual Boulder Jewish Festival will take place as schedule June 8 outside the historic courthouse on Pearl Street Mall near the site of the June 1 attack, organizers said. The Boulder Jewish Community Center and JEWISHcolorado issued a joint statement saying they are taking steps to "reimagine the event in a way that helps our community heal and feels grounded in the reality" of the attack June 1. JEWISHcolorado has launched an emergency fund to support victims, improve community safety and provide additional security at Sunday's event. Details are being finalized, the statement said. The statement noted that the attack targeted Run For Their Lives, a group with the primary focus of bringing awareness to the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. "In moments like these, our strength is in our unity," the groups said. "Thank you for standing together. We will continue to share updates and support one another." A man firebombed the home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro in April, hours after the governor and his family hosted more than two dozen people to celebrate the first night of Passover. Two weeks ago, a man shot and killed a young couple outside the Lillian & Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum in Washington. Then, on June 1, Boulder happened. In all three cases, the suspects claimed allegiance to Palestinians as their motive. The attacks come after years of escalating rhetoric, protests and demonstrations against the ongoing war in Gaza. 'The Jewish community is used to having bulletproof glass and metal detectors at their institutions, but this was a public gathering,' Anti-Defamation League Senior Vice President Oren Segal told USA TODAY of the Boulder attack. 'The Jewish community is now concerned about being publicly Jewish.' Read more here. Shootings in DC, firebombs in Boulder: Attacks mark dangerous surge in antisemitism Contributing: Reuters This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Judge blocks deportation of family of man charged in terror attack
Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Boston Globe
‘Oh yeah, I'm throwing rocks at you.' A father fishing with his 10-year-old daughter target of alleged racist attack
'I'm a fixture there,' Brown said. 'Home away from home.' But on Memorial Day, Brown said he and his daughter were subjected to a racist attack at the Central Massachusetts lake, as a homeowner allegedly threw rocks at their boat while calling them a racial slur. Brown and his daughter are Black. 'Never in 1,000 years did I think that something like this could happen,' Brown said in an interview this week. 'I fish for therapy. It's peaceful to me. It's my Zen.' Brown recorded a video of the encounter and In the video, a shirtless man in a baseball cap can be seen yelling from shore. Advertisement 'Oh yeah, I'm throwing rocks at you [expletive],' the man said in the video, using a racial slur. After the video ended, Brown said the man grabbed a piece of driftwood and continued to be 'belligerent.' From his boat, Brown told the man he was going to call the police. Brown later met officers at a nearby boat ramp, and after viewing the video, they spoke to the man, identified in a police report as David McPartlan, 66, of Ayer. McPartlan told police that Brown 'was fishing too close to his dock/swimming area and [he] asked him to move,' the report stated. Advertisement 'I slipped a word out that maybe I shouldn't have but I was pissed,' McPartlan told police. Asked about the racial slur, he said, 'I'm not going to admit to it,' according to the report. McPartlan told police he threw rocks 'around' the boat but not directly at it. But the report stated that he 'threw rocks at the victims, to assault and intimidate, because of their race.' McPartlan is being charged with two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and two counts of assault to intimidate. He is set to be arraigned in Fitchburg District Court on June 16. McPartlan did not respond to a request for comment. For Brown, 53, the day started as a typical fishing trip. Brown, who grew up in Worcester and later moved to Shirley, woke up early to avoid the holiday crowds and headed to New Hampshire to fish. He arrived home in Leominster around 1 p.m. and Azaylia told him she wanted her turn. Brown, an IT systems administrator at a pharmaceutical company in Connecticut, ordered a large pepperoni pizza, well done, with light sauce, just how he and his daughter like it. They picked it up from Athens Pizza and headed first to Whalom Pond in Lunenburg. But it was 'too busy,' Brown said, so they headed to Lake Shirley. Brown took Azaylia to 'the ideal place' on the lake in his 20-foot bass boat embellished with his brand name, SKB Fishing. Brown is a freshwater guide and takes children and adults out on the lake for a fee. Advertisement They stopped about 65 feet from shore and waited for three other boats fishing closer to the shore to clear out. He wanted Azaylia to catch bluegill, a fish that starts to nest in shallow areas between docks when the water reaches the upper 60s. They started a competition — who can catch more fish? Less than two minutes into their game, Brown saw a person coming down to the water. He assumed it was the owner of the nearby dock, to make chitchat or ask about what's biting. 'They're always friendly,' Brown said. 'If you ask me a question about fishing, I can talk to you all day.' As Brown started to tie Azaylia's line, the owner started to yell at them. 'It's his dock. It's his property,' Brown recalled. 'I should go somewhere else. And I feel he's trying to bully me to leave, right?' As Azaylia ate her pizza and put her feet in the water, Brown told the man, later identified as McPartlan, that he was out on the lake with his daughter for Memorial Day. Sheron K. Brown and his daughter eating pizza on Lake Shirley. Sheron K. Brown Brown said the closest his boat came to shore was about 50 feet, about two boat lengths away. But Brown said that McPartlan continued to curse at them. Azaylia looked at her father and asked, 'Did I do something wrong?' Brown recalled. 'No, honey, you didn't do anything wrong,' Brown told her. 'This man is just being mean.' Azaylia kept trying to catch a bluegill, and Brown took out his phone to capture the instant a flapping fin emerged from the water. For a moment, the excitement of fishing was all that mattered. Advertisement Then Brown saw a 'big splash' as a rock hit the water. 'I was scared for what else could happen,' Brown said. Brown yelled to McPartlan, 'Did you throw a rock at me?' He then began to record the exchange with McPartlan saying yes. Azaylia had never heard the slur before, Brown said. 'I'm feeling upset that he doesn't care that my daughter's there and he's used expletives,' Brown said. 'And I'm feeling upset that now I have to figure out how to explain somebody's racist remarks to my daughter.' Azaylia typically smiles and 'waves at everybody' on the water, Brown said. But on Memorial Day, she fell silent. 'This child is looking at me, you know, like, what do we do?' Brown said. The 354-acre lake, located in both Shirley and Lunenburg, is maintained by the Lake Shirley Improvement Corporation. Joanna Bilotta, the corporation's president, and Andrew Storm, its vice president, said in an interview Thursday that the corporation had no comment on the incident. But as a resident on the lake, Bilotta said she has seen Brown fishing before and 'found him very pleasant.' Storm said he was 'shocked and saddened' by the allegations. 'I've been on the lake my entire life, so over 40 years,' Storm said. 'I have never had a negative experience with any of the fishermen on the lake.' The lake is public and is governed by the state, Storm said. Brown said he plans to attend the arraignment. 'I've never encountered that before from anyone on the lake,' Brown said. 'It's been all peace, all love.' A week later, Azaylia is still processing the encounter, Brown said. Advertisement She says she feels OK, but she's been quiet, he said. 'Hopefully, she's not scarred by this,' he said. 'But I don't know.' Ava Berger can be reached at
