_edited.png)
On Monday, November 11, a new Trooper from the 90th Recruit Training Troop assigned to the Springfield Barracks was on patrol with his Trooper Coach during “break in,” a period for new troopers to gain experience in the field working alongside a veteran.
Shortly after 9 p.m., the pair stopped to enter information about a motor vehicle stop they completed in the moments before when a man in his late 30s approached the passenger side of their cruiser. Troopers observed the man carrying a hatchet in his right hand, several knifes, and a machete.
The man engaged the Troopers asking them why they wouldn’t exit the cruiser and arrest him for the aforementioned weapons in his hands. Troopers attempted to de-escalate the situation and told the man he was free to leave. The man remained at the cruiser shaking his head.
Recognizing the abnormal behavior and the serious threat posed by their proximity to the weapons, the Trooper Coach directed the new Trooper to de-escalate by putting the cruiser in reverse and creating distance from the man. As soon as the cruiser moved backwards, the man raised his hand and struck the car several times on the hood, right fender, and right head light. As the cruiser continued away, the man wound up and threw the hatchet at the passenger side of the windshield.
Troopers requested assistance as the man continued to follow them down the street, retrieved the hatchet, and began yelling. Together with additional Springfield and State Police, law enforcement drew their weapons and ordered the man to drop his hatchet. The man eventually complied with the verbal commands, dropped his weapons, and surrendered. He continued acting erratically yelling that he wanted to kill corrections officers and later first responders broadly.
Colonel Noble said this about the encounter: “Despite the grave danger posed by an armed, volatile individual, these Troopers used their training and composure to achieve a safe resolution for the suspect, bystanders, and first responders. This event is one example of the excellent police services our members deliver to the people of Massachusetts. I thank these troopers for their example of de-escalation, which remains a core value of our approach to these situations."
We commend this team of state troopers and Springfield officers for using their training, skill, and restraint to end a potentially fatal situation without injury.