Crews have responded to back to back motor vehicle accidents this morning.
The first call was to Route 195 for a car vs. deer and now units are on scene of this vehicle that drove off the town wharf.
At about 5:40 PM on Tuesday, June 23, 2020, officers assigned to District B-2 (Roxbury) made an on-site firearm arrest in the area of Humboldt Avenue and Crawford Street.
Officers responded to a radio call for a person in the area of Maple Street and Cheney Street carrying a fanny pack with a gun inside.
While traveling on Cheney Street towards Blue Hill Avenue, officers observed a male carrying a fanny pack around his left shoulder. Officers exited their marked cruiser to speak with the male, later identified as Jermaine Thomas, 44, of Mattapan.
Due to the nature of the call, a large crowd gathered in the area. Officers attempted to gain control of the suspect’s hands at which time the suspect immediately grabbed the officer’s wrist and began squeezing it. As officers struggled to gain control, the suspect ripped his hands away and continued to resist by clinching his arms and pushing at officers causing a Body-Worn Camera to be knocked off and picked up by an unknown bystander.
As the crowd grew larger, a Boston Fire Department hydrant was illegally opened causing a heavy flow of water pressure onto the street directed at the officers.
Officers, while still attempting to place the male into handcuffs, felt an object consistent with that of a firearm inside of the fanny pack. An unknown suspect was throwing buckets of water on the officers while they were attempting to place the suspect into the marked cruiser after placing him in handcuffs. Officers recovered a Ruger LCR .38 SPL revolver, loaded with 5 Rounds of ammunition. The suspect was placed under arrest and immediately transported to District B-2 for booking.
Jermaine Thomas was charged with Unlawful Possession of a Firearm (3rd and Subsequent), Unlawful Possession of Ammunition and Resisting Arrest. He is expected to be arraigned at Roxbury District Court.
Said Boston Police Commissioner William Gross, “I’m alarmed by the level of hostility my officers had to face while arresting a felon armed with an illegal firearm. They were attacked by members of the very same community they were attempting to protect by affecting this arrest. Public safety is a shared responsibility, we need to continue to work together, not in opposition towards one another, to achieve that goal.”
Award recognizes exemplary teaching and service on each UMass campus.
UMass Dartmouth Associate Professor Jeremiah Ho has been awarded the 2020 Manning Prize for Excellence in Teaching for his outstanding dedication to students and the university. The faculty members — one from each UMass campus — will receive $10,000 awards in recognition of their sustained excellence in teaching and exemplary contributions to the campus community. Ho, who teaches at UMass Law, joined the University in 2012.
The Manning Prize was established in 2016 by UMass Lowell alumni Rob and Donna Manning to honor UMass professors who excel in teaching and service. “Donna and I are proud to recognize these five faculty members for their skill, passion and extraordinary commitment to students,” said Rob Manning, a 1984 graduate of UMass Lowell. “Faculty are the heart and soul of this great university, and we thank these talented educators for going above and beyond to enrich their campus communities and help students reach their full potential.”
Rob Manning, who is executive chairman of MFS Investment Management and chairman of the UMass Board of Trustees, credits UMass Lowell math professor Bernie Shapiro with helping him land the job that launched his career. Donna Manning, who received her nursing degree and her master of business administration from UMass Lowell, was an oncology nurse at Boston Medical Center for more than 30 years until her retirement in 2018. They are among the largest contributors to UMass in its history.
“We’re so thankful to Rob and Donna Manning for their generous support of our faculty, who make UMass the world-class university it is today,” said UMass President Marty Meehan. “These faculty members inspire and empower students both in and out of the classroom, so this is a wonderful recognition of their efforts.”
Ho teaches Contracts, Trusts & Estates, Remedies, Products Liability, and Law Review Note Writing and writes about law and inequality, exploring such issues mostly concerning sexuality, race, and culture. He also writes extensively on legal education, methodology, and theory. Ho has won the respect and admiration of students and faculty colleagues alike. Letters of support consistently praise his energy and optimism as well as his dedication to student research, writing, and professional success.
“This recognition from Mr. and Mrs. Manning, UMass Dartmouth, and the UMass system is tremendous. I’m honored to teach at the first and only public law school in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” said Associate Professor of Law Jeremiah Ho. “I dedicate this prize to my students and all of the remarkable teachers who have influenced me.”
In 2014, Ho was selected for Lawyers of Color’s 50 Law Professors Under 50. He has also received the Professor of the Year Award four times at UMass Law in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. Recently, Professor Ho’s TEDx-style talk on law teaching was recorded at American University, Washington College of Law, and is part of a curated series at LegalED. He has also been interviewed previously by NPR for his views on legal education. Since 2013, he has been a contributing faculty member at the Institute for Law Teaching and Learning.
“Professor Ho is an incredible educator and advocate for our students and the work they do to help the communities we serve as the Commonwealth’s only public law school,” said UMass Law Dean Eric Mitnick. “I am so glad Professor Ho and his approach to legal education have been recognized with this award.”
This year’s Manning Prize winners will be honored during a Zoom event on June 24, 2020.
On Monday evening, at approximately 10:55 p.m., Trooper Steven Golbranson, a recent graduate of the 85th Recruit Training Troop and his Field Training Officer, Trooper Kyle Melvin observed illegal fireworks being set off from the Riverside Press Park on Memorial Drive in Cambridge, which was closed to visitors at the time of the incident.
Upon arrival to the park, and a brief investigation, four men, ages 22, 24, 24, and 25, all from Cambridge were identified and found to be in possession of the illegal fireworks as well as an illegally possessed .380 firearm with a laser sight attached.
All four men will be summoned to court at a later date for the following charges:
1. Trespassing;
2. Unlawful possession of fireworks; and
3. Possession / carrying a firearm
On Tuesday, June 23, 2020 at approximately 9:14 p.m., Dartmouth Police and other emergency personnel responded to the area of #678 State Road to investigate a motor vehicle vs. pedestrian crash with injuries.
Upon arrival, emergency responders identified the pedestrian as Chad BRADLEY, 30, of New Bedford, and the operator of the vehicle as Matthew PENACHO, 32, of Westport.
As a result of injuries he sustained, BRADLEY was transported to Rhode Island Hospital.
State Road was temporarily shut down, and the crash is currently under investigation by the Dartmouth Police Department Crash Reconstruction Unit and Detective Division.
A community forum to discuss systemic racism, police in schools, and reimagining school safety, will be held via Zoom at 4 p.m. EDT Thursday.
The forum is organized by the New Bedford Coalition to Save Our Schools (NBCSOS). NBCSOS is a vibrant, diverse, grassroots community-based organization of over 150 members. NBCSOS is primarily made up of New Bedford families, students, and educators who are committed to protecting public education and strengthening our schools and community. The mission is to create caring schools that work to support the physical, social, and emotional development of all students so that they become creative, compassionate participants who are capable and willing to transform society in the direction of equity.
NBCSOS supports the Black Lives Matter movement (BLM) and is hosting the forum to educate the public on education justice issues, particularly the criminalization and dehumanization of Black youth in schools. While support for BLM is increasing in America and locally, too many are unfamiliar with the demands of the movement and actions needed to make change and move society in a direction of equity. Through discussions with the community, it is clear that too many White allies of the movement do not understand the issue of police in schools. This forum is for supporters of the movement who want to learn more about the demand to remove police from schools and reallocate funds to restorative services. This forum will address questions regarding school safety, the role of police in the community, and how communities set budgets to reflect their priorities.
The forum will be a conversation between these leading experts and scholar-activists. Dr. Erica R. Meiners is professor of education and women’s and gender studies at Northeastern Illinois University. She is the author of several books including Right to Be Hostile: Schools, Prisons, and the Making of Public Enemies and coauthor of Flaunt It! Queers Organizing for Public Education and Justice; Dr. David Stovall is professor of African-American studies and criminology, law and justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is the author of several books including Born Out of Struggle, Critical Race Theory, School Creation, and the Politics of Interruption and the editor of From Education to Incarceration: Dismantling the School to Prison Pipeline; and Dr. Aaron Kupchik is professor of sociology and criminal justice at the University of Delaware. His research focuses on juvenile justice with interests in punishment and policing of youth in schools, courts, and correctional facilities, as well as inequality among juveniles. He is the author of Homeroom Security: School Discipline in an Age of Fear and The Real School Safety Problem: The Long Term Consequences of Harsh School Punishment.
NBCSOS has been active in the fight for equity and justice in New Bedford for several years. In addition to successfully resisting privatization of our schools, NBCSOS has been instrumental in numerous wins for the New Bedford Public Schools. The Coalition’s work has included: securing additional funding, overhauling the food-service department, and increasing community voice in decisions that affect the community. To support BLM, NBCSOS is also continuing community action dialogues in our schools, facilitating book clubs around social justice and education justice issues, and actively working to ensure that our schools adopt curriculum that is anti-racist and culturally responsive while recruiting/retaining educators of color.
The REIMAGINING SCHOOL SAFETY event is Thursday, June 25 at 4 p.m. EDT. It is free and open to the public. For more information and to register for the event, please visit www.nbcsos.org.
Last night, at about 11:10 p.m., Troopers from State Police-Middleboro responded to a motorcycle crash on Route 495 South near Exit 8 in Raynham that resulted in the death of the 23-year-old male operator from Rehoboth.
Preliminary investigation indicates the man operating a 2016 Yamaha YZFR1 motorcycle rear-ended a 2004 commercial dump truck hauling asphalt. As a result, the motorcycle became engulfed in flames and the operator was determined deceased at the scene. Prior to the crash, the motorcycle was seen swerving in and out of travel lanes at an extremely high rate of speed.
The name of the victim will not be released at this time.
The southbound side was closed for approximately three and half hours. All southbound traffic was detoured to the Exit 8 off ramp and re-entered Route 495 South via Exit 8 on ramp.
The crash remains under investigation by Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police along with the Collision Analysis Reconstruction Section, and Crime Scene Services Section, Bristol County State Police Detective Unit and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Section. Troopers were assisted on scene by MassDOT, Raynham Fire and EMS.
The Federal Court on Monday ruled in favor of the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office and Securus Technologies in finding that Sheriff Hodgson acted lawfully in contracting with Securus Technologies to provide telephone service to inmates.
Two years ago, prisoners’ rights activists brought suit against Sheriff Hodgson and Securus, and ran to the media to publicize their filing, generating headlines like “Lawsuit claims Sheriff Hodgson receiving kickbacks from inmate telephone calls” (Taunton Daily Gazette 5/7/18).
Dismissing all claims against the Sheriff and Securus on Monday, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani decided that the Mass. Legislature by statute gave the Sheriff the authority to generate revenue from inmate telephone calls.
Despite the politically charged distortions of the prisoners’ rights groups and political activists claiming the receipt of “illegal kickbacks,” echoed in many cases by the media, all monies generated from the inmate telephone service were utilized for IT and investigatory services which supported and safeguarded the inmate telephone system. Monday’s decision vindicates not only Sheriff Hodgson’s actions, but those of other Sheriffs in the Commonwealth who, through ingenuity, utilized outside sources of revenue to relieve some of the burden on taxpayers.
“For years, we have had to defend ourselves from unmitigated attacks by political activists who have been non-stop accusing us of ‘illegal kickbacks’ and profiteering on inmate phone calls,” Sheriff Hodgson said Tuesday. “Now, the Federal Court has unequivocally told us that our actions were proper.
“As usual, I will not hold my breath waiting for any apologies for all the hateful and defamatory comments made about the Sheriff’s Office or myself,” Sheriff Hodgson continued. “Rather, the BCSO will continue to provide top-notch care and custody to the inmates and the community it serves while insuring that every effort is made to minimize the burden on taxpayers.”
The Massachusetts Environmental Police would like to welcome aboard our newest Environmental Police Officers!
Officers successfully completed a rigorous 6-month Police Academy which culminated last week. Today, Officers were sworn in by Colonel Shaun T. Santos and will now begin an extensive specialized training program to equip them for their roles as Environmental Police Officers.
Congratulations and best of luck!
“First of all, it’s been fireworks every SINGLE day, every single night, allll night and I’m sick of it!
Waking up my grandmother, my parents, myself, got my dog going crazy!!!!! Second of all, y’all MFs destroy EVERYTHING. You people love to complain about how we don’t have anything nice in New Bedford, but look how you treat the nice things we do have.
Brand new park/basketball court and you guys are out here setting off fireworks for NO reason, starting fires, littering, bothering people, triggering people’s PTSD. For what?!
Middle of the day at that! I don’t wanna hear you guys complaining about how New Bedford ain’t sh*t and we got nothing nice over here. This is how you people treat our nice things. Y’all are really trash. Who raised you?”-Lindsey Ferreira.
