Latest news with #WestfieldPoliceDepartment
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Westfield Police Department to acquire new K-9 unit, handler needed
WESTFIELD — With the Westfield Police Department planning on acquiring a new K-9 unit in late summer, four officers currently on the force are competing to become its handler. 'You've got to run with the dogs,' police Capt. Steve Dickinson said on the importance of the unit's next handler being in excellent shape. To learn if the candidates can meet the physical fitness requirements, they performed the Cooper Test Monday morning at the Roots Athletic Complex. The test is designed to provide a simple way to assess an individual's cardiovascular. 'When the dog is running through the woods during a search, they've got to be able to stay with them the whole time,' Dickinson said about the handler. The department hasn't had a K-9 unit for several years, but starting in 2000, it acquired Duke, who eventually retired and was replaced by Falco, Mako, and Ares. That would change when Jerome Pitoniak was named the department's chief in October 2023. During his interview in front of the Police Commission, Pitoniak, responding to a question about the new initiatives for the department if appointed, acquiring a K-9 unit was one of his goals. With Pitoniak appointed, police Detective Christopher Coach applied to The Hometown Foundation Inc., a Connecticut-based nonprofit that raises money for animal welfare, providing assistance to individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities, helping those affected major illnesses, providing assistance for military service members and their families, and helping emergency response personnel, which includes providing grants to police departments to acquire K-9 units. Coach said the foundation donated $14,500 for the purchase of a new unit, a GPS tracking collar, and a bullet- and stab-proof vest. He wanted to thank the foundation, including Meghan Sullivan. 'She was great to work with. We're grateful for their support,' Coach said. Coach said one of the reasons the department qualified for the grant was because many of the departments in neighboring towns only have access to State Police K-9 units. The Southwick Police Department has a K-9 unit, but other towns like Montgomery, Russell, Southampton and Granville don't. Those units, including Southwick's, are not always immediately available, and time, especially when searching for suspect that has run from the scene of a crime or for an elderly person with dementia that has wandered away from home, becomes important, Dickinson said. 'Those minutes matter,' he said. How the dog is trained determines what types of roles it will have. Dickinson said the department is planning on using the unit primarily for searching, but it will also used for narcotics detection and general patrol duty. The training is provided by the Hampden County Sheriff's Office, Coach said. It has two certified trainers, and the service is offered at no charge to the city. The first step, however, is to find the right officer. That officer will spend a significant amount of time during the training process, which can take months, and then when on duty. Off duty, the unit usually goes home with its handler. Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Police and fire conduct training exercise at former Abner Gibbs Elementary School in Westfield
WESTFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Members of the police and fire departments are conducting training exercises at the former Abner Gibbs Elementary School in Westfield. In a social media post by the Westfield Police Department, the police and fire department, along with other partner agencies, will be at the former elementary school on West Silver Street. They will be conducting training exercises beginning Tuesday. Westfield hosts annual Memorial Day Parade Police say that residents in the area may notice an increase in emergency personnel and vehicles through Saturday, and there is no cause for concern. The elementary school closed at the end of 2024, as students in Pre-K through 4th grade transferred to the new state-of-the-art school, Westfield River Elementary, on Franklin Ave. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Portion of Elm Street in Westfield closing for Fast 5K Road Race Saturday
WESTFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – A portion of Elm Street in downtown Westfield will be closed for the Fast 5K Road Race on Saturday. The Westfield Police Department says Elm Street will be closed from Franklin to Court Street between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Beginning on Friday afternoon, this area of Elm Street will be posted with no parking signs in preparation for the event. Vehicles are not permitted in the event space by 7 a.m. on Saturday. City of Springfield will celebrate its 389th birthday with the World's Largest Pancake Breakfast on Saturday The race will kick off at Westfield State University on Western Ave and end on Elm Street. Access to Granville Road from Western Ave will be inaccessible during this time. Drivers are asked to seek an alternative route and plan accordingly. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
Superior Court judge denies city's request to dismiss portion of police officers wage theft lawsuit
SPRINGFIELD — A Superior Court judge has ruled against the city after denying its request to dismiss a complaint filed by 19 current Westfield Police Department officers alleging they should have been paid 'regular wages' when attending the police academy, according to court documents. 'After a hearing and consideration of the parties' submissions, the court denies defendant's motion to dismiss,' wrote Superior Court Judge Deepika B. Shulka when handing down his decision Wednesday. Last September, Springfield-based attorney Jeffrey Morneau with Connor & Morneau representing the officers of the department filed a lawsuit against the city with three separate complaints. Count I alleged that officers attending the police academy should have been paid the same wages as a regular officer. Count II was that the city didn't pay the officers while they were attending the academy regular wages earned within seven days of the end of the pay period. Essentially, the second complaint is asking the court to find that the officers attending the academy should have been paid at least $21 an hour instead of $19 per hour within seven days of leaving the academy. And in Count III the officers alleged the city was obligated to pay them because 'valuable services were provided to the city' by the officers — it is called a claim for quantum meruit. In the court's decision to dismiss the first complaint of the lawsuit, the judge referred to case law and cited a 2008 decision and that she determined the officers had 'pleaded factual allegations plausibly suggesting (not merely consistent with) an entitlement' for relief. In this case, it would be back pay times three. The city had argued in its request for dismissal that the court shouldn't accept 'legal conclusions cast in the form of factual allegations' and that the officers used the collective bargaining agreement between the city and Westfield Police Officers Coalition as a justification for relief. While the city initially requested the court dismiss the second complaint, during a court hearing between the city and officers, according to the court documents, the officers agreed to seek payment for wages only while they were working in the academy, which was agreed to by the city. 'Therefore, the court leaves Count II undisturbed as pled,' Shulka wrote. For Count III, the city argued in its answer to the original complaint that the officers were bound to the CBA, and they are 'not entitled to recovery … where a valid contract that defines the obligations of the parties.' In the judge's decision, she noted the language of the CBA is 'not as clear as the city suggests.' She said that while the words 'ACADEMY RATE $19.00' does appear in the agreement, there is also language in the agreement that a student officer is a full-time police academy student; they are not covered by the contract.' The court also noted that the agreement between the city and the union specifically excludes student officers among the group of officers for whom 'the Union [is] the sole and exclusive bargaining agent with respect to wages, hours, and other conditions.' The judge wrote that the language of the CBA was 'ambiguous at best as to whether the student officers are bound by the CBA, what rights the student officers had to challenge it, and whether the CBA prescribed an hourly pay rate for student officers.' Based on that, the court also denied the city's request to dismiss Count III. Morneau said Wednesday the next phase of the lawsuit includes the city answering the court's decision, discovery begins, and depositions being taken. Morneau is also seeking the lawsuit be deemed a class action because of the potential the lawsuit will include at least 50 of the department's officers. 'The class allegations are brought on behalf of [the] plaintiff and all other members of the Westfield Police Officers Coalition who worked for [the city] … absent a class action, the class will continue to suffer injury, thereby allowing these alleged violations of law to proceed without remedy and allowing [the city] to retain the proceeds of its ill-gotten gains,' the lawsuit reads. The city of Westfield's Law Department declined to comment on the decision. Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Yahoo
Westfield police searching for suspects connected to Home Depot hit-and-run
WESTFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The Westfield Police Department is asking for the public's help in identifying two suspects believed to be connected to a hit-and-run. Route 57 in Granville reopens after crash Police said that on Monday, a hit-and-run occurred in the Home Depot parking lot between 2:40 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Surveillance footage captured the vehicle involved in the incident, as well as two men that are believed to have been operating the vehicle. Anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to contact the Westfield Police Department at 413-562-5411 or by emailing WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
