By Brian Lee Telegram & Gazette A hearing officer found insufficient evidence to conclude that police Sgt. Joseph J. Brooks hit and severely injured a police dog with his police vehicle and then lied about it. The hearing officer, Joseph M. Zeneski, found no cause for the town to take disciplinary action against Sgt. Brooks for the events of June 4, when police found the
Motorcyclists in Massachusetts suffer from a disproportionate number of accidents and injuries, despite following almost all of the same road regulations as other drivers. Per mile traveled, motorcyclists have a 35 times greater risk of being fatally injured in an accident than a passenger car. According to stats, between 2001 and 2008 an estimated 1,222,000 people were treated in U.S. emergency rooms for non-fatal motorcycle
The Massachusetts General Laws explicitly says there is a three-year period in which to claim personal injury protection benefits after an accident. However, the law also stipulates that you make your claim “as soon as practicable after the accident occurs from which such claim arises” (G.L. Chapter 90, Section 34M) Your insurance company is responsible by law for paying legitimate medical expenses, arising directly from
By Brian Lee | Telegram WEBSTER — A hearing during which Police Sgt. Joseph Brooks was accused of striking and injuring a police dog with his vehicle on June 4 wrapped up Wednesday at Town Hall. The 14-year veteran of the department is on paid leave and is fighting for his job amid two theories about what happened to the Dutch shepherd, named Radar, just
by KC Myers PROVINCETOWN — Former Police Chief Jeff Jaran says he will fight his termination last year by the town at an arbitration hearing Oct. 30. The selectmen fired Jaran, Provincetown’s police chief for about five years, in December after months of controversy related to his alleged angry outburst at The Squealing Pig pub after an N.W.A. rap song containing anti-police lyrics played on
SOUTH HADLEY – Little has been discussed publicly about more than $10,000 stolen from the Police Department several years ago, with most details coming from a complaint filed recently by a police union against the town on a separate matter. The four-year investigation began in 2007 and concluded in 2011 with no charges being filed. “The Northwestern District Attorney’s office’s investigation into that matter was
By Jim Russell SOUTH HADLEY – The police officers union has filed in Suffolk Superior Court a complaint of contempt against the town for refusing to refund $222,870 in back pay to an officer who was fired in 2009 and rehired in 2013 following an arbitration ruling. According to the complaint, interest on the amount is accruing at $625 per week. The action follows a
RJA’s client was driving in Carver, Massachusetts on a Sunday afternoon when a driver on an intersecting street went through a stop sign and crashed into our client’s vehicle. The force of the collision caused our client’s vehicle to perform a 360 degree spin until it came to rest against a telephone pole. As a result of the accident, our client suffered a fracture to
Massachusetts workers who are injured on the job often do not know where to turn if the insurer rejects their claim. There were nearly 70,000 workplace-related injuries and illnesses in Massachusetts last year, according to a report that was compiled with help from several agencies including the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. Most Common Injury and illnesses Fortunately, most of the injuries and
By Lyle Moran | Original Article LOWELL — A Superior Court judge has denied a police sergeant’s request for a preliminary injunction preventing the city and Police Superintendent William Taylor from promoting two other sergeants whom he alleges live in New Hampshire. Sgt. Steven O’Neill alleged in a Superior Court complaint that Lowell police Sergeants Donald Crawford and John Cullen live out of state, in