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WPD Annual Report: Post Road Most Prone for Crash, K-9 Units Seized $1M in Cash

Warwick Police Headquarters at 99 Veterans Memorial Drive.
Warwick Police Headquarters at 99 Veterans Memorial Drive.
Warwick Police Headquarters at 99 Veterans Memorial Drive.

WARWICK, RI — The Warwick Police Department has posted its annual report on its website, noting an 11 percent decrease in traffic crashes, 729 mental health calls, $1,247,484 in cash seized by K-9 units and identifying Post Road as the most crash prone stretch of road in the City.

“The men and women of the Warwick Police Department have continued to work in conjunction with our elected officials and citizenry to provide service to the City of Warwick that can be described as nothing less than exemplary,” wrote WPD Chief Col. Stephen McCartney in the introduction of the document.

A summary of the report is listed below:

UNIFORM PATROL DIVISION (Page 6)

First Platoon:

  • 22 officers and 6 sergeants
  • In 2017, between the hours of 7:00am to 4:00pm, the men and women of the day shift Patrol Division responded to 34,688 calls for service.
  • Within these calls, the First Platoon handled 639 arrests, 1,934 accidents, and 2,652 offense reports.

Second Platoon:

  • Three officers, 5 sergeants, 24 patrol officers
  • There were 28,465 calls in 2017, including: Arrests: 957; Citations: 3,634; Accidents: 1,003; FIRs: 52

-Officer Larson responded to a residence regarding a potential suicidal female. He found her unresponsive in a locked and enclosed garage. Officer Larson made a forced entry, removed the victim and facilitated her immediate transport to the hospital. She later regained consciousness. Officer Larson was awarded a Lifesaving Award for his actions.

-Officer Pacheco received a Lifesaving Award for his actions during a motor vehicle accident-car into a tree. Officer Pacheco arrived on scene to find that the operator had blue skin color, was not breathing, and had track marks on his inner elbow. Knowing these to be signs of an opioid overdose, he removed him from the vehicle and immediately began CPR. Officer Elderkin, (who also received a Lifesaving Award) arrived soon after, and administered Narcan. The operator later regained consciousness.

Third Platoon

  • 1 Captain, 1 Lieutenant, 5 Sergeants, 19 Officers and 4 dispatchers.
  • Covering two overnight shifts 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. and 12 a.m. to 8 a.m.
  • During 2017, Third Platoon made 476 arrests, conducted 2,404 motor vehicle stops, issued 586 motor vehicle citations, responded to 19,072 calls for service and investigated 512 accidents. 61 of the arrests for the Third Platoon included a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) charge.
  • The prevalent crime trends that occur during this shift continue to be domestic disturbances, larcenies from parked vehicles, theft of tires and rims from vehicles, burglaries of businesses and late night disturbances at hotels, liquor establishments and residences. Burglary alarms, motor vehicle accidents, DUI’s directed patrols, and self-initiated police contacts make up the bulk of the officers work.

MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM (Page 10)

“There is no denying the high volume of such calls in the City of Warwick and the significant number of encounters with people experiencing mental health issues. In 2017 Computer Aided Dispatch showed Officers responded to 375 calls for service for ‘Psychological Problems in Progress,’ 75 calls for service for ‘Psychological Problems,’ and 279 calls for service for ‘suicide’ or ‘suicide in progress,'” according to the report.

In October 2017 the MHCRT began a new out-reach program titled the Community Wellness program. The programs goal is to connect members of the community that are struggling with mental illness and substance abuse with behavioral health services. Once a week the department’s mental health clinician along with 2 members of the MHCRT conduct checks on members of the community that have been, or might be in crisis and need assistance. From October 2017 to December 2017 team members responded to 48 community wellness calls. In 2017, 508 calls were cleared with a call action of “Mental Health Services Rendered.”

COMMUNITY SERVICES DIVISION (Page 13)

The mission of the Warwick Police Department Community Services Division (CSD) is to address quality of life issues by a continued partnership with the community which focus on several areas of concern to include: problem oriented policing, stakeholder engagement, traffic-related services, quality of life issues and those with mental and/or substance abuse disorders. The efforts of the Community Services Division are archived in a new CSD Daily.

Traffic Unit

  • The Traffic unit is supervised by Sergeant John Kelly who oversees 7 officers and 1 civilian employee.
  • The overall amount of accidents decreased about 11 percent from 4,650 since 2016. A total of 4,102 crash reports were written by the Warwick Police Department during 2017; of these crash reports the Traffic Division investigated 830. The Traffic Unit was tasked with investigating 100 of the 412 Hit & Run Crashes in 2017.
  • The Accident Reconstruction Team was called out to investigate 14 serious accidents in 2017; 11 were fatal accidents; 3 resulted in criminal charges.

Of the 4,102 crashes reported, the following roadways had the greatest amount of crashes:

  • Bald Hill Road, 529
  • Centerville Road, 220
  • Post Road, 632
  • Quaker Lane, 155
  • Warwick Ave, 337
  • West Shore Road, 312

Community Police Unit

The Community Police Unit is comprised of several different areas, all focused on the continued partnership with the community. Two Sergeants, eleven officers and 1 civilian administer several programs that include Community Policing, School Resource Officers, Sex Offender notification, Police Athletic League, Elderly Affairs, the Warwick Police Explorer program, and the K9 Unit.

  • Community Police officers made 9 arrests, completed approximately 48 offense reports, and issued approximately 186 motor vehicle violations.

Officer Paul Wells with his K-9 partner Fox and Officer Aaron Steere with his K-9 partner Viking have continued to be a very successful addition to the Warwick Police Department and the Community Services Division.

The following is a summary of the K-9 officers’ activities during 2017:

K-9 tracks:

Searches conducted: 21

Cash seizures: 
$1,247,484

Narcotics investigations/assists: 18

Marijuana seized: 57,588.96 grams

Cocaine seized: 20,328.39 grams

Heroin/fentanyl seized: 30,699 grams

Weapons seized: 1 Shotgun

2017 SWAT TACTICAL OPERATIONS:

  • On 04/22/17, members of the Warwick Police SWAT Team and Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT) conducted a successful operation regarding a barricaded male on Gordon Ave. The male was suspected of shooting at family members as they fled the residence during a domestic disturbance. The CNT negotiated the suspect’s surrender. A search of the residence revealed several firearms.
  • On 06/10/17, members of the Warwick Police SWAT Team provided a Quick Reaction Force (QRF) for the Gaspee Day Parade. The mission of the Team was to provide swift deployment to any life threatening situation(s) that may arise. The Team, which was stationed at a nearby staging area, provided tactical personnel, bomb technicians and SWAT Medics to counteract any action that would threaten civilians on the parade route.
  • On 07/14/17, members of the Warwick Police SWAT Team provided a Quick Reaction Force (QRF); two counter sniper teams; roving uniform officers; bomb technicians; and medics in support of a planned visit by VPOTUS at TF Green Airport.
  • On 08/08/17, members of the Warwick Police SWAT Team, along with Detectives of the WPD Special Operations Group (SOG), were tasked with a high risk warrant service take for narcotics on Ormsby Avenue.
  • On 08/28/17, members of the Warwick Police SWAT Team and Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT) conducted a successful operation regarding a barricaded male on Highland Road. The male believed to have been holding his juvenile daughter hostage was arrested without incident for domestic charges.

DETECTIVE DIVISION (Page 39)

  • The Detective Division of the Warwick Police Department has a complement of one (1) Captain, one (1) Lieutenant, six (6) Sergeants, twenty-five (25) Detectives and one (1) civilian criminalist.
  • In 2017, the district and night detectives collectively worked on forty-three (43) sexual assaults of varying degrees, representing a reporting increase of four (4) from 2016. They also investigated 12 robberies, which was an increase of six from the previous year. Additionally, the district and night detectives investigated 168 burglary and/or breaking and entering complaints, which was an increase of 22 from calendar year 2016.

Some of the cases solved by the Warwick Police Department’s district and night detectives include:

Troy L. Gunderway and Richard A. Baribault, both of Warwick were convicted of Murder for the 2015 killing of Fernando Silva.

Jacob Gallant, of Westport, MA was arrested and later entered a guilty plea for Assault w/ Intent to Commit a Felony. The charged stemmed from his unprovoked knife attack of an eighteen year-old (18) female employee of Rite Aid pharmacy.

Ryan Beeley and Mariah Ramos, both of Warwick were indicted for 2nd Degree Murder in the death of their infant daughter.

Joseph M. Amatal of Cranston was charged with the 2nd Degree Robbery of Citizens Bank at 10 West Shore Rd.

Scott G. Cleverly of Cranston was charged with Unlawful Appropriation of over one hundred fifty (150) tools and other items from Home Depot, which were valued at nearly $100,000.

Dat Doeur of East Providence was charged with the 2nd Degree Robbery of TD Bank at 2625 West Shore Road.

Joseph R. Taylor was charged with two (2) counts of Breaking and Entering of a Building and two (2) counts of Felony Larceny.

John Chiellini of West Warwick was charged with the 1st Degree Robbery of Shell Gasoline at 1190 Quaker Lane.

Douglas Fagundes of Cumberland was charged with Breaking and Entering of a Dwelling and Larceny of a Firearm.

Paul Botelho of Warwick was charged with Domestic Breaking and Entering of a Dwelling.

The complete Warwick Police Department Annual Report for 2017 has been embedded below: WPD-Annual-Report-2017

Rob Borkowski
Author: Rob Borkowski

Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at [email protected] with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.

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