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 to a suicidal individual who was intoxicated and armed with a double-edge knife:
- Officer Robert Liberge
- Officer Christopher Robert
On August 12, 2023, at approximately 0042 hours, Lynn Police call-taker Officer Paul Wonoski received a call from the VA Suicide Hotline reporting that an individual that was located in the area of the Commons was threatening to harm himself with a knife. Multiple units responded to the area searching for the individual. C-16, Officer Robert Liberge and Officer Aedan Leydon (C-16), and Officer Ioan Rasinariu (C-7) were the first to locate the victim, who was in the Commons, laying on grass under a tree.
As the officers approached, they could see that he was holding a double-edged knife to his own throat. Officer Liberge initiated a dialogue with the victim, who was heavily intoxicated and was speaking to his girlfriend on the phone through his ear buds.
The victim, who was visibly upset, identified himself by name and then asked Officer Liberge to speak to his girlfriend. Officer Liberge explained to the girlfriend what was occurring, and requested that she respond to the scene and she agreed. He then turned his attention back to the victim, keeping him engaged and focused on their conversation.
While this was taking place, additional officers including Officer Daniel Keough (C-8); Officer Kevin Chasse (C-9); and Officers Robert Correale and Christopher Robert (C-15) arrived on scene; and they coordinated to secure the perimeter, while also requesting a supervisor and arranging for an ambulance to stage nearby.
Sergeant Edward Cauley (S-2), arrived moments later and he directed Officer Correale to deploy the SAGE weapon (less lethal option) while remaining out of sight, as Officer Robert assisted Officer Liberge in communicating with the victim. As this was occurring, a friend of the victim arrived on scene and spoke with Sergeant Mark Nerich (S-1) and Officer Liberge to provide some background on the victim’s emotional state.
As the additional units arrived on scene, the victim became agitated and began yelling at the officers, demanding that they back away. Officer Liberge then re-engaged the victim in conversation, and although he remained despondent, the distraught individual opened up and provided more information, including that he had prior military experience. Officer Robert then began to engage the suicidal party in conversation, due to similar backgrounds in the military. Officer Robert reassured the suicidal party that officers were on scene to help him and continued to establish a rapport with him.
Officer Liberge and Officer Robert continued to communicate with the victim in an effort to persuade him to put the knife down. Despite their efforts, the victim remained despondent and he began to move the knife back and forth across his throat and wrists in a slicing motion. At one point, the victim asked to speak with his girlfriend again. Officer Liberge then told him that he would bring the girlfriend to that location, if he would agree to drop the knife. The victim then agreed to this arrangement.
The victim’s girlfriend arrived moments later, and Officer Liberge explained the agreement. He and Officer Leydon then escorted her to a safe distance away from the victim, and immediately upon seeing her, the suicidal male dropped the knife and was safely taken into custody. Sergeant Cauley arranged for a Section 12 order to be issued, and the victim was transported to North Shore Medical Center for treatment.
All of the officers and supervisors who responded to this incident acted with tremendous professionalism, as they exercised strong tactics and excellent coordination, while also showing great restraint and empathy. The actions of Officer Liberge and Officer Robert are particularly noteworthy; as they showed outstanding dedication to duty and personal bravery, as well as tremendous patience and quick thinking, by building a rapport with the victim to keep him from harming himself and then formulating an agreement that resulted in his safe surrender.
I hereby order that Officer Robert Liberge and Officer Christopher Robert be commended for their actions, with a copy of this Commendation to be placed in each of their Personnel file.
I further order that Officer Aedan Leydon, Officer Ioan Rasinariu, Officer Kevin Chasse, Officer Daniel Keogh and Officer Robert Correale be awarded a Letter of Recognition for their response, with a copy to be placed in their each of their Personnel files.