Police Chief Daniel Valadas is proud to announce the awarding of several commendations to officers of the Ludlow Police Department and staff of Ludlow’s Central Dispatch.
During the most recent meeting of Ludlow’s Board of Selectmen on April 16, the following Ludlow Police Officers and Dispatchers received recognition and formal commendations from their Town:
- Officer Michael Whitney
- Officer Ryan Churchill
- Officer Timothy Goodchild
- Officer Adam Roach
- Lieutenant David Irwin
- Dispatcher Samantha Jordan
- Dispatcher Linda Zina
- Dispatcher Michael Lynch
“They ran to their cruisers and they took off as fast as they could to Wilbraham to assist their fellow officers,” said Ludlow Board of Selectmen Vice Chairman Derek DeBarge, who himself is a retired police officer.
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 had refused to surrender peacefully. Eventually, the suspect was taken into custody.
Ludlow Police Chief Daniel Valadas said, “I am incredibly proud of our officers, their bravery, their courage and their decisive actions. It is satisfying to see our leadership saw fit to formally commend these men and women for their service to our community.”
Wilbraham Police Chief Edward Lennon, who also attended the ceremony, said, “It is humbling to see the other police departments, all the support they gave us. It was extremely important.”
Ludlow Central Dispatch provided emergency communications for responding public safety agencies and assisted with orchestrating the overall effort. 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.
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