# Framingham Cop Feared Pierced by Syringe



## fscpd907 (Jun 5, 2003)

*Framingham cop feared pierced by syringe at Tin Alley Grill*
By *Jennifer Kavanaugh*/ Daily News Staff
Sunday, April 9, 2006 - Updated: 12:58 AM EST

*F*RAMINGHAM -- A violent struggle that began in the men's room of the Tin Alley Grill on Friday night has left a Hopkinton man facing drug and assault charges and a police officer undergoing a monthlong medication regimen after the suspect allegedly punched him with a drug needle in hand. 
 
Ryan Devine, 23, of 3 Thayer Heights Road, faces multiple charges after he police said he resisted arrest and started a fight with an officer in a bathroom stall, a confrontation that eventually spilled out into the restaurant's main lobby.

During the scuffle, Officer Brett Poirier may have been stuck with a drug needle that Devine had in his hand, said Lt. Paul Shastany, the department's spokesman. As a result, Shastany said, Poirier must take medicine five times a day for 28 days, as a precaution against HIV and other illnesses that could be contracted through needle pricks.

"He had blood all over him," Shastany said, describing Poirier's injuries after the confrontation. "There's reason to believe that the needle in (Devine's) hand, and its contents, had come in contact with his cuts."

Police charged Devine with heroin possession, possession of a hypodermic needle and syringe, assault and battery on a public employee and disorderly conduct, and he will also be charged with resisting arrest, Shastany said.

Devine, who was released on $1,000 bail, could not be reached for this comment. A woman who picked up the phone at Devine's house and identified herself as his mother said the police's version of events was wrong, but she hung up before elaborating. A manager at the Tin Alley yesterday declined comment.

The incident at the popular Rte. 9 spot began around midnight, when a manager told the detail police officer that he had just seen a man walk into the men's room with a hypodermic needle, Shastany said. The restaurant pays for a detail police officer to keep watch during busy times, Shastany said, and Poirier was on duty that night. He said Poirier was in his police uniform.

Poirier went into the bathroom, and through a gap in the bathroom stall, saw Devine trying to fill a needle with liquid, Shastany said. Poirier opened the stall door, and Devine allegedly punched him in the face and pushed him, Shastany said.

"This kid was fighting violently to get away," Shastany said.

Over the next several minutes, the fight spilled out of the stall, into the bathroom's common area and out to the main lobby, as backup police officers traveled from the other side of town, Shastany said. As a crowd watched, a couple of patrons tried to help Poirier subdue Devine and Poirier sprayed him with a pepper-type spray, but that didn't work, either, Shastany said.

The fact that a couple of bystanders stepped forward to help Poirier actually helped keep 
the crowd under control and prevented an even more dangerous scenario, Shastany said. Sometimes in crowd situations, he said, people can turn on the officer and actually try to 
help a suspect avoid arrest.

"It's kind of a weird dynamic that changes a crowd," he said.

Poirier's backup arrived a few minutes later, Shastany said, and it took two 50,000-volt charges with a Taser, an electric shock weapon, to subdue Devine. Police handcuffed him and brought him back to the police station.

Poirier went to MetroWest Medical Center and was treated for scrapes, cuts and bruises. Shastany said police have no idea if Devine has any communicable illnesses that could endanger Poirier, if he was in fact stuck with the needle. Unless Devine volunteers that information, he said, police have no access to it because of medical privacy rules.

Shastany said police also don't know if Devine -- who is 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs about 130 pounds -- was under the influence of drugs at the time of the struggle. He said he does not know if Devine needed or sought medical treatment after he was bailed.

When asked whether someone would have any expectation of privacy in a bathroom stall, even one in a public setting, Shastany said police had probable cause to enter the stall. He said Poirier had the right because the Tin Alley's manager reported seeing Devine walk into the bathroom with a needle, and Devine's alleged actions were visible from a common area in the men's room.

After Devine was arrested, he said, police found the needle in his pocket, and found heroin in the bathroom stall where the incident began. Devine is due to be arraigned in Framingham District Court tomorrow.


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## SinePari (Aug 15, 2004)

Friggin' dirtbag...I hope he actually shows up and gets nailed. My buddy used to be the manager over there at the Tin Alley...the place is a zoo. I hope the officer is OK.


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## KozmoKramer (Apr 25, 2004)

What a friggin thing to have to live with... Scumbag addict bastards.
Hopefully it will turn out to be negative for anything communicable...


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## massirishcop (Apr 3, 2004)

I hope all the tests are fine. The court better deal with this dirtball properly..............lock him up for a long, long, time.....


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## Piper (Nov 19, 2004)

The oficer could have a tough road ahead of him. I am on my 2nd week of taking Combivir (AZT) for an unprotected blood exposure from an arrest of a junkie hooker and the drugs they want you take really kicks your ass.


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## divingcop911 (Jan 23, 2006)

The bail seems a little low, doesn't it? Also, if it does prove to be positive for anything, can he also be harged with A/B deadly weapon...which I think carries a higher penalty than A/B PO... Hope the PO is OK.


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## badgebunny (Aug 17, 2005)

I too hope this officer is okay and wish him the best. Question: can this officer find out if this scumbag does in fact have AIDS/HIV or any other diseases???


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## Nachtwächter (Dec 9, 2005)

badgebunny said:


> Question: can this officer find out if this scumbag does in fact have AIDS/HIV or any other diseases???


No. It goes into HIPAA and AIDS laws. Although if you are good with the ER staff where the shitbags was taken you may get an unofficial HIV status.


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## dcs2244 (Jan 29, 2004)

No...I don't believe that information can be had unless the scumbag is willing to divulge it...of course, one could take a blood sample from the suspect the old-fashioned way: with a club and a sponge!


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## MVS (Jul 2, 2003)

Nachtwächter said:


> No. It goes into HIPAA and AIDS laws. Although if you are good with the ER staff where the shitbags was taken you may get an unofficial HIV status.


Yep, If you have good relations with your local ER staff, you should be able to "get an idea" :wink: of the scumbags status.


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## mpdcam (May 5, 2002)

Hopefully FPD gave this scumbag a good tuning up. Hate these junkies and their needles. :BM:


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## K9Vinny (Sep 25, 2005)

Nachtwächter said:


> No. It goes into HIPAA and AIDS laws. Although if you are good with the ER staff where the shitbags was taken you may get an unofficial HIV status.


One of the reasons why I never wrote a nurse when I worked patrol.


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## MVS (Jul 2, 2003)

> A woman who picked up the phone at Devine's house and identified herself as his mother said the police's version of events was wrong, but she hung up before elaborating.


Hey Ma, your kid is a junkie!


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