# • Officer testifies against colleague



## USMCTrooper (Oct 23, 2003)

*Officer's behavior assessed*

Wednesday, October 04, 2006 
By MARLA A. GOLDBERG

SPRINGFIELD - Agawam police officer Danielle L. Petrangelo testified yesterday that on June 19, a colleague and former boyfriend, officer Barry P. Syniec, arrived at her house uninvited, grabbed and threw her, and threatened to kill her and himself. 
A jury-waived trial for Syniec, 35, of Agawam, began yesterday and continues today in Hampden Superior Court, where Syniec has pleaded innocent to assault and battery, threatening, criminal harassment, witness intimidation and malicious property destruction. 
Syniec, who is held without bail, wore a dark suit and a tie, although his ankles were shackled. Agawam officials could not be reached late yesterday, but said weeks ago that Syniec's job status was under review. 
"This is a case about an obsession that's gone out of control," Assistant District Attorney Michelle A. Cruz told Judge Bertha D. Josephson. Syniec got upset when he found out Petrangelo, 28, was seeing someone else, Cruz said, adding that Syniec sent text messages to Petrangelo's cell phone. Syniec told Petrangelo he hated her and had moved on, while a message about lingerie said, "'Ha ha, not for you,'" Cruz said. 
Defense lawyer Thomas J. Rooke said Syniec is an alcoholic who can't control his behavior. Syniec pushed Petrangelo "across a very small porch," on June 19 in a state of "mental disrepair and intoxication," Rooke said, adding that it was a "simple assault," and Syniec didn't intend harm. Syniec was unarmed except for the eggs and golf balls thrown at Petrangelo's house, Rooke said. 
Petrangelo testified that she and Syniec were intermittently involved for 2½ years, but broke up in March or April. "He wanted to continue the relationship, and I did not," she said. 
In June, Petrangelo said, Syniec began sending her messages and e-mail, stating he loved her and couldn't stop thinking about her, or that his hatred was worse. In voice messages, Petrangelo said, Syniec used obscenities and called her a whore. 
While out walking early on June 19, Petrangelo said she encountered Syniec, and told him "there was nothing else to say." Afterward, Petrangelo said she received numerous messages from Syniec, including that "he was drunk again, and thinking about hurting himself." 
At about 8:30 p.m., Petrangelo said, she heard beeping in her driveway and saw Syniec's truck. "He was throwing objects at my house, golf balls, beer bottles, and eggs," she said. 
Petrangelo said Syniec stood on a porch chair, peering through her door windows. "He grabbed the phone from my hand, and said call your (expletive) boyfriend, and then he broke my phone," Petrangelo said. 
"He grabbed me by the wrists and forearms ... and he just threw me across, away from him, into some wicker furniture," she said, adding that several bruises resulted. 
Petrangelo said two neighbors arrived and threatened to call police, and Syniec told them to do so, reciting the Agawam station number. "He looked at me, and he said very calmly that he was going to kill me and then kill himself, because he didn't care anymore," she said.


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## dcs2244 (Jan 29, 2004)

With all due respect to our female colleagues:

CLUE: It's just a girl...there are more of them out there! 

If the allegations are true, I think this fellow needs to find a new line of work, given that he is apparently unable to control his passions...

Guys shouldn't be striking/shoving girls in any event...no matter how much they deserve it!


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## USMCTrooper (Oct 23, 2003)

*Judge rules ex-cop guilty of assault*

Thursday, October 05, 2006 By MARLA A. GOLDBERG

*[email protected]* 
SPRINGFIELD - A former Agawam police officer, Barry P. Syniec, was found guilty yesterday of assault and battery and other crimes against his ex-girlfriend and colleague, officer Danielle L. Petrangelo. 
"I truly am sorry to the people I hurt," Syniec, 35, told Judge Bertha D. Josephson after a jury-waived trial in Hampden Superior Court. "My selfishness through drinking was what brought us all here ... I'm disgusted with my own behavior." Syniec's voice broke and he cried at times while addressing the court. 
Besides assault and battery, Josephson convicted Syniec of threatening to kill Petrangelo, and malicious property destruction for twisting and breaking her cell phone.
Petrangelo, 28, testified on Tuesday that she dated Syniec intermittently for 2Â½ years ending in March or April, but he became angry after finding out in June that she was seeing someone else. Petrangelo said that after a barrage of text and voice messages, in which Syniec used obscenities, called her names and threatened to hurt himself, Syniec drove up to her house uninvited on June 19 at about 8:30 p.m. Petrangelo said he threw eggs, golf balls and beer bottles at the house, and then came onto the porch, where he grabbed and threw her, and threatened to kill them both. 
Josephson postponed sentencing and set a hearing for Nov. 1, adding that she wants a psychiatric evaluation of Syniec, along with an investigation and report from probation, before making a judgment. 
Assistant District Attorney Michelle A. Cruz recommended a sentence of 15 months in jail, plus 15 months suspended and three years' probation, while Syniec's lawyer, Thomas J. Rooke, argued for time served and 10 years' probation. Both agreed Syniec must give up his gun license and undergo treatment and testing for alcohol abuse. 
Rooke told the court that Syniec lost his job as an Agawam police officer and has been in custody for 3Â½ months, "a deep humiliation for a man who wore the badge." Syniec worked as a corrections officer before joining the Agawam police about three years ago, Rooke said. 
Cruz, in seeking the jail sentence, said her office may be holding Syniec to a slightly higher standard because he was a police officer. "He took an oath to serve and protect the community," she said, adding that Syniec was "trained in handling volatile situations." 
Cruz said Syniec should be ordered not to contact Petrangelo, and to stay at least 500 feet away from her. Cruz said she is concerned for Petrangelo's safety, and other Agawam police officers whom Syniec believes are Petrangelo's allies. 
Rooke said Josephson could bar Syniec from the Town of Agawam entirely while he is on probation, and Syniec could live with a friend while selling his house there. 
Josephson acquitted Syniec yesterday of witness intimidation and criminal harassment. He has no prior criminal record. However, Josephson refused Rooke's request to release Syniec on electronic monitoring while he awaits sentencing, and Syniec remains held without bail.


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## dcs2244 (Jan 29, 2004)

I reckon if this guy was a lemming he wouldn't have spent one day in jail for this...he would've been out and about pending trial. (I'm not intimating that it would have been okay, lemming or not...just sayin'.)


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