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 who demonstrated the highest levels of professionalism and dedication to duty during their response and subsequent apprehension of an armed female suspect, who had assaulted multiple individuals while on a drunken rampage.
- Officer Michael Chakoutis
- Officer Ioan Rasinariu
- Officer Jose Torres
On Saturday June 24, 2023, at approximately 1935 hrs. C-17, Officer Michael Chakoutis and Officer Ioan Rasinariu (C-17) were dispatched to a Curwin Circle address on a report of a fight. Upon arrival, the officers were informed that a female resident of the housing complex was drunk and assaulting neighbors, including a 65-year-old male. The female suspect fled into the housing complex prior to the officers’ arrival.
Officer Jose Torres (C-11) responded to the scene on his own to assist the officers in C-17. While traveling to their location, Officer Torres noted a large crowd near a Curwin Circle address, and then further down the road he observed a female with facial injuries.
Officer Torres informed Officers Chakoutis and Rasinariu of his observations, and then returned to investigate. He confirmed that there was a fight in the area, and that the female suspect was down the street with a smaller crowd. He then encountered the suspect walking towards him, and he could see that she had a silver object in her hand. Officer Torres approached, and ordered the female party to stop, but she refused and began running towards a Curwin Circle address where there was a group of children and adults gathered for a birthday party.
Officer Torres quickly drew out his department-issued taser and chased after the female, while simultaneously giving commands in Spanish for her to stop and also notifying the other Lynn units of his observations. The female suspect ignored his commands, and continued to charge toward the group gathered for the birthday celebration. Some members of the group ran inside, while others scattered to get away from the suspect while yelling that she had a knife.
As the suspect ran toward a canopy in the yard, Officer Torres could see that she was armed with a knife in her right hand and that she had a meat tenderizer in her other hand. He notified C-17 of his observations, and created distance between himself and the suspect; while ordering her in English and Spanish to drop the knife. The suspect refused to comply and began yelling, “Do it, do it!”. Officers Chakoutis and Rasinariu arrived at his location, and the officers took up tactical positions with their weapons drawn to provide lethal cover, as Officer Torres continued to engage the suspect with his taser. As Officer Rasinariu gave verbal commands to the suspect to drop her weapons, Officer Torres observed that her left flank was fully exposed. He then deployed his taser, striking her in the lower left of her body, resulting in full muscular incapacitation. The suspect dropped both weapons and fell to the ground. Officers Rasinariu and Chakoutis then moved in and quickly placed her in handcuffs, as she started to regain muscle function and offered resistance.
Officer Jose Torres showed keen observation skills and strong tactics, as he located and attempted to de-escalate an armed and intoxicated suspect while also preventing her from harming other civilians in the area. He was then joined by Officer Chakoutis and Officer Rasinariu, and together these officers demonstrated excellent coordination and strong tactics, as they used a less lethal option to safely apprehend the suspect without further harm. These officers conducted themselves according to the highest standards of the Lynn Police Department while demonstrating excellent tactics and personal courage, as they placed themselves at risk of physical harm during the course of their actions.
I hereby order that Officer Jose Torres, Officer Ioan Rasinariu, and Officer Michael Chakoutis be commended for their actions, with a copy of this Commendation to be placed in each of their personnel files.