Police Chief Daniel Valadas and Town Administrator Marc Strange are pleased to announce the award of several commendations to staff members of Ludlow’s public safety agencies. 

Members of the media are welcome to attend. 

WHEN:

Tuesday, April 16, at 5:30 p.m.

WHERE:

Ludlow Town Hall, Board of Selectmen’s Conference Room, 488 Chapin St.

WHO:

• Ludlow Police Chief Daniel Valadas
• Wilbraham Police Chief Edward Lennon

Those who will be receiving letters of commendation include:

• Officer Michael Whitney
• Officer Ryan Churchill
• Officer Timothy Goodchild
• Officer Adam Roach
• Lt. David Irwin
• Dispatcher Samantha Jordan
• Dispatcher Linda Zina
• Dispatcher Michael Lynch

WHAT:

Officers of the Ludlow Police Department will receive commendations for their courageous actions and outstanding performance.

On Jan. 20, at approximately 8:27 p.m., officers responded to a call for assistance by the Wilbraham Police Department on a domestic disturbance call. Wilbraham Officer Cameron Prosperi had been injured by gunshots from a suspect barricaded in a home.

Ludlow K-9 Officer Michael Whitney, who was monitoring the Wilbraham Police Department frequency, arrived first on the scene within two minutes of the original callout. He handed over one of his trauma bandages from his vest to be placed on Officer Prosperi’s gunshot injuries. That enabled critical first aid to be given to the injured officer and, eventually, his transfer to an ambulance.

Officers Churchill, Goodchild, and Roach arrived within the next two minutes. They provided critical assistance by securing a perimeter around the suspect’s home and property. At that moment, the suspect’s whereabouts were unknown. They needed to consider that the armed suspect was still a danger.

Enhancing the volatility and risk of the situation, the suspect’s wife and daughter were still inside the home. Ludlow officers held the perimeter in freezing cold temperatures until they were relieved by the Massachusetts State Police Stop Team more than two hours later. 

During this incident, officers faced possible deadly force from a dangerous, armed, barricaded suspect who refused to surrender peacefully. Eventually, the suspect was taken into custody.

Emergency communications with responding public safety agencies and support were provided by dispatchers of the Ludlow Central Dispatch. Their support was crucial to the response, coordination of resources, and command of this dangerous and volatile incident.

Following the incident, resources known as Critical Incident Stress Management were made available to those involved in the response in February.