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Date Posted: 07:04 11/11/09 Wed
In reply to:
Kopy Kitty
's message, "Chartrand Focus of Inquiry" on 19:00 11/10/09 Tue
(published in, Lowell Sun, 11-11-09)
Dracut police chief stands by deputy in gun incident
By Erin Smith
esmith@lowellsun.com
DRACUT -- Police Chief Kevin Richardson said yesterday he has opened a preliminary inquiry into whether his off-duty deputy chief had been drinking when he showed up to a 911 domestic call for a man with a shotgun and wound up almost getting shot by his own officers.
Police-union officials are accusing Deputy Chief Dave Chartrand of trying to cover up his involvement in the late-night September incident.
But Richardson said the department has nothing to hide and defended Chartrand from the union's allegations, which first surfaced last week. Richardson praised Chartrand for taking the unloaded shotgun away from the suspect's home.
"Deputy Chartrand did everything that I would expect any of my officers to do in that situation while off duty," said Richardson. "Everything he did that I've seen so far, he did correctly. I don't think he would be able to do all that if he was highly intoxicated."
Richardson said he is not allowing Chartrand to speak publicly until his findings are released next week. Based on those findings, Richardson will decide whether a full investigation is warranted.
Chartrand had been at a block party on B Street for about 90 minutes on Sept. 26 when someone told him about a dangerous situation involving a man with a gun nearby at about 10:15 p.m., Richardson said.
"He had a duty to act at that point," said Richardson. "We take an oath whether we're on or off duty."
The incident started when a woman and her boyfriend had a fight, which ended when she dumped a beer on him, according to witness accounts given to police.
The woman called three male friends who had been out riding their motorcycles earlier that day and were at the Club Fleur de Lis, according to witness statements. The bikers agreed to leave the bar and meet the woman at her boyfriend's house on B Street while she collected her belongings from the home, according to reports. The woman began to clear out her belongings, but told dispatchers she called 911 after her boyfriend allegedly pulled an unloaded 20-gauge shotgun on her three friends.
When Chartrand arrived at the home, just before on-duty officers, the bikers had already allegedly disarmed the boyfriend, pinned him to the ground and put the single-barrel shotgun in a closet, according to reports and police witness statements obtained by The Sun.
Chartrand took the unloaded shotgun from the house for safety reasons and was almost shot by his own arriving officers as he walked down the unlit street carrying the shotgun, Richardson said.
In his report, Officer Derek Scribner said he and Lt. Michael Fleury both drew their handguns and called out to Chartrand, who they didn't recognize in the dark night, to drop the shotgun he was carrying. Chartrand allegedly ignored the commands and continued walking toward them.
Gunfire was averted when Fleury recognized Chartrand at the last second on the darkened street, according to reports.
Jerry Flynn, executive director of the union that represents Dracut police officers, the New England Police Benevolent Association, accused Chartrand of being too drunk to hear the police commands. But Richardson blamed the loud block party and the dark night for the miscommunication.
"It was completely dark out. He couldn't hear them. There was music playing. There was a party in the street. He couldn't even see them it was so dark out," said Richardson.
Richardson opened the inquiry into the Sept. 26 incident on Monday, after Flynn sent Town Manager Dennis Piendak a letter last week accusing Chartrand of allegedly being drunk at the scene and then asking his officers to not mention his involvement in the case.
Flynn has also called for the Middlesex District Attorney's Office to investigate the matter and for Chartrand to be placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
One biker reported Chartrand and the two men who were with him -- a sheriff's deputy and an electrician, according to Richardson -- appeared to have been drinking when they came to the boyfriend's house. Another biker reported he helped Chartrand get to his feet when he stumbled and lost his footing on the stairs, according to police records.
Police officers did not arrest the boyfriend that night, even though his license to carry a gun had expired, according to a report by Lt. Fleury, who Richardson said was the officer in charge that night.
Richardson said the investigation has been ongoing since September and police are waiting for the boyfriend to return from his out-of-town business trip to interview him. The boyfriend could face possible criminal charges in the case, according to Richardson.
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Compare & Contrast: Phil Berard's ATV episode vs. latest Chartrand escapade