Kristen Potter

Media Release 2/1/20

January 5, 2022Kristen Potter

Media Release

On February 1, 2020, at approximately 12:00 am, Lakeville Police officers were investigating an attempted breaking and entering on Clear Pond Road. While on the scene, a Lakeville Police officer and cruiser were struck by a motor vehicle. The Officer was entering his cruiser when the crash occurred.

The operator of the vehicle was identified as 21-year-old Hannah Rink of Middleboro who was arrested and charged with the following:

Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol
Operating to Endanger
Impeded Operation
Speeding

Rink will be arraigned in Wareham District Court on Monday, February 3rd.

The Lakeville Police officer was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries and later released.

VIDEO Lakeville Police Officers Go Above and Beyond to Ensure Unattended Packages Are Delivered to Community Members’ Homes

December 9, 2021December 13, 2021Kristen Potter

Lakeville Police Officer Rob Schiffer was caught on camera delivering an unattended Amazon package to the intended recipient’s home on Wednesday, Dec. 8. (Photo courtesy Lakeville Police Department)

To view footage of Officer Schiffer delivering the unattended package, click here.

LAKEVILLE — Chief Matthew Perkins is pleased to share that two Lakeville Police officers went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that unattended packages were safely delivered to community members’ homes yesterday.

On Wednesday, Dec. 8 at approximately 8 a.m., Lakeville Police received a report from a resident on Blueberry Drive who had located several abandoned packages in the roadway near their home.

Lakeville Police Officer Rob Schiffer responded to the area and found approximately 10 unattended Amazon packages that did not appear to be tampered with, all with Lakeville delivery addresses, abandoned in the road. After a brief search of the area, Officer Schiffer could not locate a delivery vehicle.

To ensure that the recipients received their deliveries, Officer Schiffer and Officer Weston Fazzino took it upon themselves to deliver the packages to the intended recipients throughout town in between calls for service.

“While package delivery isn’t our specialty, we wanted to ensure that the people in our community who were expecting these items received them without a significant delay,” Officer Schiffer said.

While delivering the packages to their intended recipients, a North Lakeville resident’s doorbell camera captured Officer Schiffer delivering a package safely to their address.

Together, Officers Schiffer and Fazzino delivered all of the unattended packages during their shift, ensuring that every package found was successfully delivered to those expecting their items.

“Officers Schiffer and Fazzino truly exemplified what it means to serve their community yesterday when they went out of their way to ensure that the packages were rightfully delivered to their intended recipients,” Chief Perkins said. “Their actions are a true testament to their characters and I commend them both for continuing to represent the Lakeville Police Department in such a thoughtful way.”

The Lakeville Police Department is investigating the circumstances surrounding the abandoned packages but does not believe that the incident is suspicious at this time.

The Lakeville Police Department wishes to share the following tips from the National Neighborhood Watch to help ensure that packages are properly delivered:

Consider getting a P.O. box at your local post office or having packages delivered to your office
Set up notifications to track your packages
Install a security camera in the area(s) outside your home where packages may be delivered
Require a signature upon delivery to ensure packages never are left unattended
Reschedule delivery or ask for a package hold when on vacation
Research potential home security technology and locking device options to protect and monitor packages
Ask your neighbors to grab your packages for safekeeping until you return home
If you find your package has been stolen, immediately report it to police
Sign up for the USPS “Informed Delivery” service, where you can get a daily email with a picture/scan of the mail you will receive that day. To sign up, click here.

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Lakeville Police Provide Update on Nor’easter Response, Road Closures Throughout Town

October 27, 2021December 13, 2021Kristen Potter

LAKEVILLE – Police Chief Matthew Perkins reports that the Lakeville Police Department is actively responding to calls for service during the Nor’easter and that numerous roads are closed throughout town.

The Lakeville Department of Public Works, emergency personnel, and utility crews are working to restore power and clear downed trees and power lines from roadways across town.

Lakeville Police strongly encourage residents to refrain from non-essential travel due to dangerous road conditions caused by downed trees and wires. Residents are advised to avoid the following roadways due to obstructions, and to seek alternative routes:

Highland Road
Bedford Street
Pierce Avenue
County Road
Clear Pond Road
Old Powder House Road
Crooked Lane

Residents are asked to call 9-1-1 to report any downed wires to Lakeville Police. Residents should stay away from all downed power lines and never go near or touch them for any reason; assume a downed line is live.

Residents should report power outages to their utility company. Do not call 9-1-1 to report an outage or to ask about power restoration.

Resources for local residential services:

Middleborough Gas & Electric: Report an outage online or call 508-947-1371
Eversource: 800-592-2000
Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant (TMLP): 508-824-3111
Columbia Gas gas emergency line: 1-800-525-8222
Verizon: 800-837-4966
Comcast/Xfinity: 800-934-6489

As always, anyone who has an emergency is asked to call 9-1-1.

Town officials will provide further updates as they become available.

Lakeville and Middleboro Police Respond to Fatal Motorcycle Crash Friday Night

October 2, 2021December 13, 2021Kristen Potter

LAKEVILLE – Lakeville Police Chief Matthew Perkins and Middleboro Police Chief Joseph Perkins report that the Lakeville and Middleboro Police Departments responded to a fatal motorcycle crash on Vaughan Street in Middleboro at the Lakeville town line late last night.

At approximately 11:45 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1, a Lakeville Police officer spotted a motorcycle operating recklessly on Main Street traveling at a speed of 68 miles per hour in a 40 miles per hour zone.

The officer attempted to conduct a motor vehicle stop on the motorcycle. The officer briefly followed the motorcycle on Main Street until abandoning the pursuit when the motorcycle turned onto Vaughan Street. It became evident to the officer that the operator of the motorcycle was fleeing, and for safety reasons, the officer discontinued the attempt to stop the motorcycle.

A short time after calling off the pursuit, the Lakeville officer continued to follow the path of the motorcycle on Vaughan Street and found that the motorcycle had crashed into a telephone pole just over the Middleboro town line.

Upon his arrival, the officer immediately called for medical aid and assisted with treating the operator. The operator of the motorcycle was transported by a Lakeville Fire Department ambulance to Morton Hospital, where they died from their injuries. Middleboro Police also responded to the scene.

The identity of the victim is not being released at this time pending notification of their next-of-kin.

At this time, the incident remains under investigation by the Lakeville and Middleboro Police Departments and Massachusetts State Police Accident Reconstruction Unit.

Vaughan Street in the area of the Middleboro/Lakeville town line is currently closed while the scene is still active.

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Lakeville Police Awarded Grant to Increase Seat Belt Use

May 19, 2021December 13, 2021Kristen Potter

LAKEVILLE POLICE AWARDED GRANT TO INCREASE SEAT BELT USE

May 19, 2021- The Lakeville Police Department was awarded a grant from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s Office of Grants and Research (OGR) to increase the number of patrols and to remind drivers and passengers about the lifesaving benefits of wearing a seat belt. Lakeville police will join other departments across the state and the Massachusetts Department of State Police in the national Click It or Ticket enforcement campaign.

“Seat belts are the single most important safety item in our vehicles,” said Chief Perkins of the Lakeville Police Department. “We see firsthand the devastating consequences of drivers and their passengers not buckling up. These funds will increase our traffic enforcement presence to help end these preventable tragedies.”

“Seat belts are the best way to protect yourself from dangerous drivers,” said Kevin Stanton, Executive Director of the OGR. “You might be an excellent driver, but not everyone else is. Seat belts are your best defense against impaired, aggressive, and distracted drivers.”

“Seat belts save lives. It’s as simple as that,” said Jeff Larason, Division Director of the OGR’s Highway Safety Division. “Massachusetts has one of the lowest seat belt use rates in the nation. We need to change that.”

DATA:

Massachusetts’ seat belt use rate is consistently lower than the national average, ranking 45th in the 2019 seat belt observational study.
At 81.6% use, over 1.2 million Bay Staters still are not regularly buckling up. The national seat belt use rate is 90.7% (2019)
In Massachusetts, a larger percentage of pickup trucks (71%) and SUVs (65%) fatalities are unrestrained compared to passenger cars (60%).
According to NHTSA, seat belts saved an estimated 61 lives in Massachusetts in 2018.
68% of nighttime fatalities are unrestrained in Massachusetts compared to 55% of unrestrained daytime fatalities.

*** Media Note ***

Crashes are not “accidents.” We urge the media to follow the AP Stylebook, which suggests avoiding the word “accident” for distracted, negligent, drunk, or drugged crashes.

For more information on the OGR’s Municipal Road Safety and distracted driving enforcement grant program, please visit www.mass.gov/service-details/traffic-safety-grants.