Easton man honored for saving a life

On Jan. 23, while Paul Bruyere was staying at the Taunton hotel, he heard a disturbance in the hall, O’Berg said.

“Putting himself in danger, he pulled a stabbing victim away from the perpetrator and administered first aid. Without his actions, the victim would have bled to death before the arrival of the police or ambulance crew,” O’Berg said.

O’Berg also asked the Taunton city council to recognize the responding officers for their “professionalism” in dealing with the situation, patrolmen William Henault and Jeff Martin and Sgt. Daniel McCarthy and the other officers on the shift, patrolmen Tom Larkin, Brian Sullivan and Steve Joiner and Lt. Robert Casey.

“As a team, they secured the scene, identified witnesses and a suspect and gathered evidence, all of which led to an arrest of a suspect,” O’Berg said.

O’Berg also asked the council to recognize seven officers for their handling of an incident at PRIDE Inc. on Maple Street Jan. 22.

“The officers displayed great restraint in a situation where the officers were placed at great risk of physical harm. The officers are a credit to the Taunton Police Department,” O’Berg said.

O’Berg said one of the participants in the PRIDE program was out of control on the day in question.

He had armed himself with a golf club and was smashing out the windows of cars and houses, O’Berg said. The man attacked the first police car on the scene, smashing in the front and back windows and breaking Patrolman Jeff Arruda’s hand when Arruda attempted to apprehend him, O’Berg said. The man was taken to Morton Hospital and Medical Center for a mental health evaluation and treatment and later arraigned in Taunton District Court, O’Berg said.

 “It was a volatile situation. It could have easily escalated. They did everything right,” O’Berg said.

 In addition to Arruda, the chief recognized patrolmen Arsenio Chaves, Erick Nichols, Michael Tremblay and Joseph Boleiro and sergeants John Joyce and Paul Roderick.