Hull Police Arrest and Charge Three Men with Trafficking Heroin

April 22, 2019 by Benjamin Paulin

Hull Police Department
Chief John Dunn
1 School Street
Hull, MA 02045

For Immediate Release

Monday, April 22, 2019

Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: ben@jgpr.net

Hull Police Arrest and Charge Three Men with Trafficking Heroin

HULL — Chief John Dunn reports that the Hull Police Department arrested and charged three men with trafficking heroin following a traffic stop on Sunday, April 21.

GIOVANNI CRUZ, AGE 19, OF BELMONT; TOMAS MARTINEZ, AGE 24, OF DORCHESTER; and RAPHY VERAS, AGE 19, OF QUINCY were each charged with:

Trafficking in Heroin Over 36 Grams
Possession to Distribute a Class A Drug (Heroin)
Possession of a Class A Drug (Heroin)
Possession With Intent to Distribute a Class D Drug (Marijuana)
Possession of a Class D Drug (Marijuana)
Possession of a Burglarious Instrument

In addition, CRUZ was charged with Operation of a Motor Vehicle with a Suspended License, Marked Lanes Violation and Malicious Destruction of Property Under $1,200.

At approximately 10:45 p.m., Sunday, April 21, Hull Police received a report of an erratic driver in the area of 50 George Washington Boulevard.

Hull Police Officer Stephen Glavin located and observed the driver drift between lanes and almost cross into the opposite lane of traffic twice.

The driver was pulled over by Officer Glavin near 45 Hull Shore Drive. As Officer Glavin approached the vehicle and spoke to the driver, later identified as CRUZ, he noticed a strong odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle.

During the course of the traffic stop, it was determined that CRUZ was driving with a suspended license. The two passengers, MARTINEZ and VERAS did not have valid driver’s licenses and as a result the vehicle needed to be towed because it was blocking the driveway of a business.

While performing a routine inventory of the vehicle prior to the tow, officers located and seized approximately 41.8 grams of heroin mixed with fentanyl, 224 grams of marijuana, a digital scale and an item used to open locked car doors known as a “slim jim.”

CRUZ was also found to have 47.8 grams of marijuana in his pockets.

The three men were placed under arrest and taken to the Hull Police Department to be booked.

While inside of his holding cell, CRUZ allegedly purposefully clogged the toilet with a roll of toilet paper, causing the cell to flood with water, resulting in the Malicious Destruction of Property charge.

The three men are expected to be arraigned Monday in Hingham District Court.

These are allegations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty.

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Hull Police Department Promotes Three to Rank of Sergeant

April 5, 2019 by Benjamin Paulin

Hull Police Department
Chief John Dunn
1 School Street
Hull, MA 02045

For Immediate Release

Friday, April 5, 2019

Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: ben@jgpr.net

Hull Police Department Promotes Three to Rank of Sergeant

Left to right: Hull Police Deputy Chief Neil Reilly, Sgt. Steven Saunders, Sgt. Scott Saunders, Sgt. Edward Minelli and Chief Jack Dunn. (Photo courtesy Hull Police)

HULL — Chief John Dunn is pleased to announce that three Hull Police officers were promoted to the rank of sergeant Thursday night.

Edward Minelli and brothers Steven Saunders and Scott Saunders were promoted at a badge pinning ceremony at Hull Town Hall last night.

The three will be assigned as Shift Commanders to various shifts within the department and will receive ancillary duties in the coming weeks and months.

“Edward, Steven and Scott have worked extremely hard to get to this point in their careers and I congratulate them on their promotions,” Chief Dunn said. “All three of the guys are from Hull and I am sure they will continue to serve their hometown with pride and distinction.”

Sgt. Scott Saunders has been with the Hull Police Department since 2004 and has been an acting sergeant since 2014. He is a United States Marine Corps veteran and is currently running the department’s summer seasonal officer program.

Sgt. Steven Saunders joined his brother at the department in 2012. He is a field training officer and also handles the department’s IT and Records Management System (RMS), which he is currently working to upgrade.

Sgt. Edward Minelli has been a Hull Police Officer since 2014. He is one of the department’s firearms and active shooter instructors and is a Field Training Officer. He serves as a member of the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council’s (MetroLEC) SWAT team and over the past two years he has earned the AAA Traffic Safety/Enforcement Award.

All three sergeants have earned their master’s degrees in criminal justice.

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Plymouth County Outreach: Fatal Overdoses in Plymouth County Decreased by 18 Percent in 2018

March 29, 2019 by Benjamin Paulin

Friday, March 29, 2019

Media Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: ben@jgpr.net

Plymouth County Outreach Outlines 2018 Annual Report Data

Fatal Overdoses in Plymouth County Decreased by 18 Percent in 2018

The Police Chiefs of Plymouth County are pleased to announce that Plymouth County Outreach (PCO) has released the data from its 2018 Annual Report, showing an 18% decrease in fatal overdoses and a 13% decrease in non-fatal overdoses in Plymouth County, compared to 2017.

“We are seeing a drop in the number of fatal overdoses in the county, which is a positive step in the right direction,” East Bridgewater Police Chief Scott Allen said. “One overdose death is one too many, so we still have our work cut out for us. But the numbers are trending in the right direction, which means more individuals suffering from substance use disorders are accessing treatment.”

To view the full report click here.

Overdose data from all 27 communities in Plymouth County was entered into the PCO Critical Incident Management System throughout the year in 2018. The data was then analyzed and interpreted by Kelley Research Associates.

Fatal and Non-Fatal Overdoses

In 2018, there were 121 fatal overdoses in Plymouth County. There were 147 fatal overdoses in 2017. The vast majority of the fatal overdoses in 2018 (98%) involved a known or suspected opioid. There were only three fatal overdoses that did not involve an opioid.

The number of non-fatal overdoses also fell year-over-year. In 2018, there were 1,338 non-fatal overdoses, compared to 1,529 in 2017.

The hardest impacted communities with people suffering overdoses in Plymouth County in 2018 were:

Brockton – 661 (45%)
Plymouth – 168 (12%)
Wareham – 159 (11%)
Middleborough – 54 (4%)
Rockland – 51 (4%)

Seventy-five percent (1,093) of the total fatal and non-fatal overdoses (1,459) reported in Plymouth County in 2018 occurred in those five communities.

In regard to the location of where victims overdosed in comparison to their community of residence, 74% of the victims overdosed in their town of residence, compared to 26% who overdosed in a community outside of where they live, or were homeless.

Collaborative Outreach Efforts

Throughout the year, PCO’s outreach team attempted 987 visits to the homes of overdose victims throughout Plymouth County. Of those visits, contact with overdose victims or their family members was successful in 590 cases. Of the successful visits, 143 individuals accepted treatment and 62 individuals were already seeking treatment.

“Every person we can make contact with and speak to drastically increases the chances that they will accept treatment,” Plymouth Police Chief Michael Botieri said. “Our outreach team members worked extremely hard last year and visited nearly 1,000 homes in Plymouth County. We would like to commend them for their efforts and are hopeful they will get even more people to accept treatment this year.”

In 333 (56%) of the 590 successful follow-up visits, the outreach team had direct contact with the individual who had overdosed. The outcomes of those 333 visits were:

Person Accepted Services – 143 (43%)
Person Declined Services – 86 (26%)
Person was Already Seeking Treatment – 62 (19%)
No Response Provided – 42 (12%)

Recovery coaches play a significant role in the PCO outreach teams, partnering with plainclothes police officers who conduct post-overdose home follow-up visits. PCO outreach teams include police officers, recovery coaches, clinicians and social workers from their collaborative partners in healthcare, substance treatment, recovery, faith-based and local coalitions.

The Brockton Police Department and Brockton’s Champion Plan are vital Plymouth County Outreach partners. The Champion Plan just celebrated its three-year anniversary. At its anniversary celebration earlier this month, Brockton Mayor William Carpenter announced that Brockton had signed on and joined P.A.A.R.I., the Police Assisted Addiction & Recovery Initiative, another key partner and supporter of PCO.

In 2018, 700 individuals sought assistance through the Champion Plan and efforts by the Brockton Police, with 1,100 placements into treatment.

Since PCO started in late 2016, the coalition has continued to evolve, working to enhance existing partnerships, while consistently creating new partnerships with key stakeholders working together to combat this crisis across the region.

PCO’s police departments, along with its partners, recognize that this proactive outreach approach could eventually be utilized to engage other behavioral health issues, a future goal and focus of the PCO Chiefs Advisory Board. The Board is made up of the Plymouth County police chiefs, physicians and healthcare experts who oversee the initiative.

“PCO has clearly made a positive impact on our community,” said Dr. Jason Tracy, Chairman of Emergency Medicine at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth. Dr. Tracy, along with other Plymouth County healthcare leaders, is a member of the PCO Advisory Board. “Saving lives is a common goal of ours and it is encouraging to see what can be accomplished through this type of collaboration.”

PCO is currently six months into a two-year, Federal Bureau of Justice Assistance grant (Comprehensive Opioid Site-Based Program grant), which is providing $496,000 to PCO to expand and build upon the great work of the coalition throughout the county.

“Collectively, as a team across the county and with all of the key stakeholders, we are breaking down barriers and reducing the stigma associated with substance use disorders so that lives can be saved and families can be reunited,” said Brockton Police and PCO Advisory Board member Lieutenant Richard Linehan.

More information on PCO can be found at www.plymouthcountyoutreach.org

About Plymouth County Outreach: Plymouth County Outreach is a collaborative of police departments throughout Plymouth County led by the following chiefs: Abington Chief David Majenski, Bridgewater Chief Christopher Delmonte, Bridgewater State University Chief David Tillinghast, Brockton Chief John Crowley, Brockton Police Lt. Richard Linehan, Carver Chief Marc Duphily, Duxbury Chief Matthew Clancy, East Bridgewater Chief Scott Allen, Halifax Chief Joao Chaves, Hanover Chief Walter Sweeney, Hanson Chief Michael Miksch, Hingham Chief Glenn Olsson, Hull Chief John Dunn, Kingston Chief Maurice Splaine, Lakeville Chief Frank Alvihiera, Marion Chief John Garcia, Marshfield Chief Phillip Tavares, Mattapoisett Chief Mary Lyons, Middleboro Chief Joseph Perkins, Norwell Chief Ted Ross, Pembroke Chief Richard Wall, Plymouth Chief Michael Botieri, Plympton Chief Patrick Dillon, Rochester Chief Robert Small, Rockland Chief John Llewellyn, Scituate Chief Michael Stewart, Wareham Chief John Walcek, West Bridgewater Chief Victor Flaherty and Whitman Chief Scott D. Benton.

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Hull Police Department Awarded $8,000 Grant to Enhance Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety

February 21, 2019 by Benjamin Paulin

Hull Police Department
Chief John Dunn
1 School Street
Hull, MA 02045

For Immediate Release

Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019

Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: ben@jgpr.net

Hull Police Department Awarded $8,000 Grant to Enhance Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety

HULL — Chief John Dunn is pleased to announce that the Hull Police Department was recently awarded an $8,000 grant from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, Office of Grants and Research – Highway Safety Division (EOPSS/OGR/HSD) to improve traffic safety on local roads for pedestrians and bicyclists. In total, nearly $700,000 was awarded to 93 police departments across the Commonwealth, with funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

With close to 6,000 pedestrians killed in 2016 across the country, pedestrians now account for a larger proportion (16%) of traffic fatalities than they have in the past 33 years. In Massachusetts, that rate is even higher, with pedestrians representing more than 20% of all traffic fatalities. Bicyclists are dying at higher rates nationally as well–the 840 killed in traffic crashes in 2016 are the most since 1991.

“Bicyclists and pedestrians are at risk from the motoring public because they may not be immediately visible to drivers and unlike those in vehicles, nothing protects them in a crash,” said Chief John Dunn. “We‘ll analyze crash data to identify crosswalks, intersections, and roadways where our enforcement efforts can yield the largest impact on pedestrian and bicyclist safety.”

Under the grant, departments will pay for overtime enforcement to increase compliance with traffic laws by all road users. Departments are also eligible to purchase educational materials, bicycle helmets, and safety items to help enhance pedestrian and bicyclist visibility at night.

***Media Note***
According to NHTSA, 94% of crashes can be tied back to a human choice or error. We urge media to follow the AP Stylebook which suggests avoiding the word “accident” in reference to distracted, negligent, or impaired crashes.

Plymouth County Outreach Supports Bill to Provide Civilians Greater Access to Overdose-Reversing Medications

February 7, 2019 by Benjamin Paulin

Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019

Media Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: ben@jgpr.net

Plymouth County Outreach Supports Bill to Provide Civilians Greater Access to Overdose-Reversing Medications

The Police Chiefs of Plymouth County announce that Plymouth County Outreach (PCO) is supporting a bill filed last week that would allow law enforcement officers — in addition to medically trained personnel — to provide civilians with the overdose-reversing drug Narcan (naloxone) and train them on how to administer the drug.

Bill SD.1414, “An Act Relative to Furthering the Success of Opiate Intervention Programs,” was filed on Jan. 17 by State Senator Walter F. Timilty. The bill was co-sponsored by State Senator Viriato M. deMacedo and State Representative Alyson M. Sullivan. Since its filing, State Senator Michael D. Brady, State Senator John F. Keenan and State Representative Matthew J. Muratore have also co-sponsored the bill. All of the bill’s current sponsors represent communities in Plymouth County.

If passed, the law would allow police officers to train people how to use Narcan and give civilians doses of the medication to use in the event of a person overdosing.

“Currently, only medically trained professionals, like doctors, nurses, firefighters and treatment center workers are able to provide people with Narcan and give them the training,” Plymouth Police Chief Michael Botieri said. “As police officers who are on the front lines dealing with the opioid crisis, we believe our officers should have the ability to further help someone before they overdose.”

East Bridgewater Police Chief Scott Allen said, “Right now, when we are at an outreach follow-up visit with our officers and recovery coaches, if an overdose survivor or their family members need Narcan, we have to refer them to a local outreach organization like BAMSI, a drop-in center or Learn to Cope. That person might not go to one of the treatment centers until later that day or the next week or at all. Maybe they change their mind. Maybe they can’t get a ride. And we have effectively closed that window of opportunity to help someone who is seeking help right then and there.”

Seeing firsthand how similar scenarios have played out during PCO post-overdose outreach follow-up visits, the Police Chiefs of Plymouth County shared their concerns with Sen. Timilty, Sen. deMacedo and State Rep. Sullivan late last year, and they took the initiative in filing the bill. If passed, the change in the law would assist outreach teams, who are on the front lines across the state, and would be able to provide tools, like Narcan, to a vulnerable community at a more opportune time. Individuals who have overdosed have a high risk of suffering another overdose.

“Outreach teams have been engaging overdose victims and their families with a high rate of success, across the Commonwealth,” Sen. Timilty said. “By enabling these teams to provide naloxone to those who may be affected by an overdose, and training them on how to administer it, there is the hope that the outreach teams would be even more successful in their life-saving efforts.”

The Police Chiefs of Plymouth County offer their full support of the bill and hope to see police departments in communities throughout the state reach out to their local politicians and ask them to co-sponsor the bill and help raise awareness of this critical issue. The PCO Chiefs are asking all of their State Senators and State Representatives to sign on and support this bill.

“I have seen firsthand the difference Plymouth County Outreach has made in my community in helping those suffering from substance use,” Sen. deMacedo said. “It is my hope that this legislation will give those on the front lines greater access to the tools they need to save lives in our communities and across the state.”

State Rep. Sullivan said, “This key piece of legislation which has been filed in both the House and Senate, will be another step forward in the battle against the horrible opioid epidemic. Taking this proactive and aggressive approach will provide another necessary tool for our first responders and outreach teams. I look forward to working with Senator Timilty, Senator deMacedo, Chief Allen, Chief Botieri and members of PCO to advocate on behalf of this bill in continuing the fight against the opioid epidemic. I encourage my colleagues in both the House and Senate to support this legislation.”

Chief Allen said, “We are very thankful to see that our dialogue with Senator Timilty, Senator deMacedo and State Representative Sullivan has come to fruition as a bill and we are thankful for their support in getting this bill drafted. Hopefully it goes through the legislature and gets passed into law, giving our residents more access to this live-saving drug.”

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