# 'Bizarre' incidents test mettle of police



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

*By ROB MARGETTA, Standard-Times staff writer *










PETER PEREIRA/The Standard-TimesOfficials count the rounds that hit a New Bedford police cruiser that was fired at by Scott Medeiros, the gunman at the Foxy Lady in New Bedford last week. The incident capped a violent year for city police, which included several "bizarre" and life-threatening cases.

Every time a New Bedford police officer pulls into the city yard to get gas, he has to pass a graphic reminder of the violent nature of his job. 
Three cruisers riddled with bullet holes, one smeared with the blood of two officers wounded outside the Foxy Lady last week, stand as a testament not only of the real dangers that they face on the street but also a monument to the one of the most taxing years in department history. 
"It's a year that's been like a decade," Deputy Police Chief Kevin M. Hegarty said. 
Capt. Richard Spirlet said 2006 was notable not only for the number of incidents, but also for their high profile and violent nature. 
"It's been bizarre stuff, things you usually only see every couple of years," he said. 
The year has included a self-styled neo-Nazi attacking patrons at a gay bar with a gun and a hatchet, the seemingly gang-related murder of a 49-year-old woman known for her church volunteer work, and two incidents in which officers fired on suspects who allegedly pulled weapons on them. 
And, last Tuesday, 35-year-old Scott C. Medeiros of Freetown used a high-powered, M-16-style rifle to kill two Foxy Lady employees over a romantic rivalry. He then opened fire on police, sending two to the hospital with bullet and shrapnel wounds, and killed himself with a gunshot to the head. 
The onslaught of emotionally punishing cases has the department on edge. 
"Tense is one word," Deputy Chief Hegarty said. "Officers are really going to have to re-evaluate what they do." 
That kind of stress can take a high toll on officers unless they receive the proper support, according to Katie Gilfeather, the president of Outlook Employee Assistance Program, a private company that provides counseling and other services for the New Bedford police. 
"If they're not helped and they're harboring stress, you can see that sort of detachment from people begin, as well as physical effects." 
Ms. Gilfeather said medical evidence shows that retired police officers die from stress-related ailments, including heart problems, at an abnormally high rate. 
"The day-in-and-day-out stress takes a toll on the body," she said. 
Part of the problem is that many people - even police themselves - fail to realize how much officers' jobs can get to them. 
"We obviously recognize, first and foremost, that police officers are human beings," she said. "I think sometimes, culturally, we think these people can be superhuman. It's an extraordinary job and it calls for extraordinary coping abilities." 
Another problem is that the same drive that keeps police on the streets can make them push themselves beyond their limits, Ms. Gilfeather said. 
"They're going to do their jobs, no matter if it's good for them or not," she said. 
'unique challenges' 
This year's high-stress period for the New Bedford police began in February and has continued almost nonstop, with only a short break between major cases. 
"There have been a lot of unique challenges to police this year, and I think they've presented themselves very well," Mayor Scott W. Lang said. "But there's no one who is immune to the terrible emotional toll of seeing suffering or violence like this." 
The first "bizarre" case of 2006 Capt. Spirlet and others cited occurred Feb. 1, when Jacob Robida, 18, wounded three patrons at Puzzles Lounge, a North End gay bar. He disappeared for days before surfacing in Arkansas, where he killed a police officer, an ex-girlfriend who was riding with him and himself. 
Since then, New Bedford officers have had to deal with the seemingly gang-related murder of 49-year-old Bernadette "Bunny" DePina just days after her son, David "Crunchy" DePina, was arrested for shooting a reputed rival gang member to death. 
Another murder in June saw a Mayan immigrant brutally slashed to death over a street fight. 
In October, officers shot a man to death during a routine check at a known drug house when he allegedly pulled a replica handgun. A few weeks later, police shot and wounded a man who barricaded himself into his apartment, shot at officers with a pellet gun and charged them with a knife. 
Mr. Medeiros' rampage at the Foxy Lady was the latest test for police. 
At about 2 a.m. Tuesday, he snuck in through the club's kitchen door wearing dark clothing and what might have been either body armor or an ammunition-filled vest. He shot two employees with whom he had been arguing just hours before, one of whom was the sometime boyfriend of a woman with whom Mr. Medeiros had broken up. 
When Officers Joshua Fernandes and Steven Wadman responded, the gunman fired at least 24 bullets into their cruiser. Officer Wadman took bullets and shrapnel from their torn-up car in his arms and another shot in the hip, while Officer Fernandes was struck in the face. 
Local and state police surrounded the club. Capt. Spirlet, who serves as the department spokesman, was on scene and positioned a damaged cruiser to shield the escape route of Foxy Lady staff. 
Capt. Spirlet said he and other officers who were there were still recovering from the experience. "The adrenaline pumps and pumps and then you come down," he said. 
The police were outgunned at the scene and were out of their normal field of expertise. 
Chief Ronald E. Teachman said the emergency call they received reported "shots fired," a relatively common call in New Bedford, but one that usually means a suspect has a handgun, not a military-style rifle with the ability to pierce a typical police bulletproof vest. 
If police had known that Mr. Medeiros was alone in the club, they could have waited him out, the chief said. Because they were still working under the assumption that he might have hostages, they had to storm the strip club, he said. 
Still, he said, he was apprehensive about moving in. 
"We still had to go, because there might have been people inside," he said. 
The chief said the increased threat level his officers faced at the Foxy Lady and in previous cases this year is just a fact of modern policing. 
"This is what police officers face, not only in New Bedford, but across the country - this level of violence, this level of hate," he said. 
'inevitably stressful job' 
One of the aspects about the Foxy Lady incident that affected police most profoundly was the fact that two of their own were wounded and faced the real possibility of death, officials said. 
Despite his wounds, Officer Fernandes managed to turn the cruiser around and drive to St. Luke's Hospital. If he hadn't done that, Chief Teachman said he doesn't know if they both would have survived. 
"Wadman was bleeding very heavily," the chief said. 
Deputy Chief Hegarty said the rest of the force now probably feels just a bit more vulnerable, even if it's not at a conscious level. 
"I'm sure they're back at home checking their vests," deciding whether to buy new ones or swap in heavier armored panels, he said. 
The police are taking steps to help their officers cope with those feelings. 
Some are procedural. Chief Teachman said he wants his SWAT officers better equipped and tactical teams are already analyzing the Foxy Lady incident for future training. 
But other actions are more in Ms. Gilfeather's department. 
About 40 to 50 officers who were on the scene Tuesday morning were ordered to attend a mandatory debriefing session to discuss what they went through. 
"I am a strong believer in affording support services to officers," Chief Teachman. 
The sessions are required for any officers who have been through what police call an "extraordinary incident," which could include a shooting, the death of a child and the threat of personal danger. 
Both Ms. Gilfeather and Chief Teachman acknowledged that, among police, receiving counseling is still occasionally frowned upon. 
"I wish there wasn't a stigma attached to these services," the chief said. "If an officer suffered a physical injury, they would readily seek treatment." 
Ms. Gilfeather said the point of the debriefing sessions is that they are not counseling - they are group discussions, run by officers trained by Outlook to reach out to comrades and get them talking. 
"It's based on the understanding of trauma," Ms. Gilfeather said. 
The group sessions are designed to feel safe and confidential, with the goal of making police feel comfortable talking about emotions they're used to burying. 
"They need their privacy," Ms. Gilfeather said. 
New Bedford was an early adopter of the peer debriefing system and now has one of the most robust programs in the state, Ms. Gilfeather said. 
"The chief has been a fabulous supporter of this, and this only works with the employer's support," she said. 
Since 1988, when Ms. Gilfeather began working with New Bedford police, the number of officers trained to conduct debriefings has jumped from a handful to about 18. 
"It's been a tremendous, tremendous asset," she said. 
And it has been useful this year, Ms. Gilfeather said. 
With violent, emotionally draining cases erupting every few months, she said she can see how this year has been especially tough on police. 
"There's no getting around it - it's an inevitably stressful job," she said.

Contact Rob Margetta at 
[email protected]


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## Guest (Dec 18, 2006)

Thank God the New Bedford guys are going to be alright. The article is right stress is a big problem in the law enforcement community. We have bad stats on the things that can hurt us, drinking, divorce, bad eating habits etc. An old timer once told me your not a real cop until you have been suspended and divorced. Post traumatic stress can happen from numerous traumatic situations as well as one large one. We got to watch out for each other physically and emotionally. If your dept. offers a stress debriefing after a real bad situation take advantage of it. It can't hurt.


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