From: Christopher P. Reddy – Chief of Police
To: Commanding Officers, All Divisions
Please Read at all Roll Calls
I would like to commend the following officers for demonstrating the highest level of professionalism and dedication to duty, as they apprehended the suspect and also provided life-saving treatment to the victim, during their response to a shooting incident involving a chaotic crime scene with a large angry crowd.
- Officer Sean Coppinger
- Officer Nicholas Costa
- Officer Michael Donovan
- Officer Andrew Kreamer
- Officer Kenneth Pedone
- Officer Jose Torres
On Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at approximately 2144 hours, Lynn Control reported a disturbance at a Lewis Street address, with a potential shooting victim. Officer Michael Donovan and Officer Jose Torres (C-15), along with Officer Kenneth Pedone (C-9) were the first to arrive on scene, where they observed multiple people running out of the building and yelling. The officers entered the building and quickly located the victim of the shooting on a landing surrounded by a crowd of individuals, who were yelling and arguing amongst each other. The victim, as well as others in the crowd, informed the officers that the shooter was a security guard, and that he had fled outside. As other units began to arrive on scene, Officer Torres began treating the victim while Officer Donovan and Officer Pedone went outside the building in search of the suspect.
Upon exiting, the officers located the suspect security guard out front, and observed that he was being confronted by several people, as he stood in the street. Officers Donovan and Pedone made contact with the suspect in the roadway and ordered him to show his hands, and he complied. As the officers took the male party into custody, they also had to fend off multiple angry individuals who were attempting to confront and threaten him. During a search of the suspect, Officer Donovan recovered a Glock 47 (9MM) firearm from a holster on his belt. The individual was then secured in a nearby cruiser until being transported to the station.
As this was occurring, additional Lynn Police patrol units, including Officer Sean Coppinger (C-10), Officers Nicholas Costa and Brian Fresco (C-14), and Officer Andrew Kreamer (C-8) also arrived on-site, where they observed a chaotic crime scene. As the officers made their way into the building vestibule, they were met by an angry group, including two females who were actively fighting one another. They could also observe Officer Torres in the background providing medical aid to the shooting victim, while surrounded by the angry crowd. Officers Coppinger and Costa began forcibly directing one of the combatants out of the vestibule and onto the front sidewalk in order to clear the scene, so that the victim could be treated.
Officers Costa and Kreamer then went to assist Officer Torres with providing medical aid to the victim, while the other officers continued their efforts to control the angry crowd and clear the area. Despite the officers’ repeated warnings that they had to clear the area so that they could provide medical aid to the victim; members of the crowd, many of whom were intoxicated, continued to attempt to enter the crime scene area, while angrily yelling and making threats.
Officer Coppinger then requested any additional units to respond to the scene, at which point, Officer Hector Orellana (C-7) and Officer Nicholas Bona (C-12) arrived and assisted in finally securing the area. The victim was subsequently transported to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment of multiple gunshot wounds and he was expected to make a full recovery.
While this incident provided an excellent example of an effective, coordinated response to a chaotic and dangerous incident by all of the responding personnel; the actions of Officer Michael Donovan, Officer Jose Torres, Officer Kenneth Pedone, Officer Nicholas Costa, Officer Andrew Kreamer and Officer Sean Coppinger were especially exemplary.
Officer Donovan and Officer Pedone worked quickly to locate the victim and gather information in order to identify the suspect. They then immediately approached the suspect outside without regard for their personal safety, disarmed him, and took him into custody, while facing interference from angry members of the crowd.
Officer Torres took immediate action to provide medical aid to the victim, despite facing interference and potential harm from the angry, intoxicated crowd. Upon entering the building, Officer Coppinger acted quickly to separate and forcibly remove two females who were fighting in the vestibule adjacent to the victim of the shooting. Officer Coppinger then continued to fend off the hostile members of the crowd, while Officer Costa and Officer Kreamer acted quickly to assist Officer Torres by providing life-saving medical aid to the victim, as other officers assisted with securing a perimeter.
I hereby order that Officer Michael Donovan, Officer Jose Torres, Officer Kenneth Pedone, Officer Nicholas Costa, Officer Sean Coppinger and Officer Andrew Kreamer be commended for their actions, with a copy of this Commendation placed in each of their personnel files.
In addition, I would also like to recognize the strong coordination and effective team-work demonstrated by Officer Brian Fresco, Officer Hector Orellana and Officer Nicholas Bona during their response to this incident. Their immediate response and quick and professional actions to control an angry and disorderly crowd so that other officers could provide life-saving medical aid to the victim and secure the crime scene demonstrated the highest level of professionalism and dedication to duty. I hereby order that each of these officers be awarded a Letter of Recognition, with a copy to be placed in each of their personnel files.