Massachusetts
Patriots Denver AFC Championship rally honoring fallen Massachusetts native
Hundreds of Patriots fans in Denver for Sunday’s AFC Championship will be rallying together Saturday night, with all funds raised supporting a cause in honor of a Massachusetts native killed in the line of duty a decade ago.
Each time New England travels to Denver to take on the Broncos, the “Pikes Peak Pats” fan club hosts massive parties for fans who either live in or are traveling to Colorado for the game.
Club president Anne Stone says that the rallies have raised nearly $70,000 over the past decade for the Pikes Peak Region Peace Officer Memorial Foundation, in Garrett Swasey’s name.
Swasey, a Melrose native, died at the age of 44 on Nov. 27, 2015, when a gunman shot and killed him and two other victims at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs. Swasey was responding to the scene as an officer with the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs police department.
The Peace Officer Memorial Foundation honors fallen local, federal, state and military law enforcement officers.
“Our postseason fundraiser has always been for Garrett, and it will be the same [this time],” Stone told the Herald on Friday afternoon. “Why do all of this and not have something good come out of it? It’s an absolute ball.”
Stone, a Hyde Park native who moved to Colorado in 1995 with her husband, has served as president of the Patriots fan club since 2007, with members meeting up weekly to watch their favorite team.
“You can take the girl out of Boston, you can’t take Boston out of the girl,” Stone said. “That goes for all of us.”
The group has a core of 30 to 40 fans who have been with the club since it started. Its overall population has fluctuated over the years, heavily attracting military members from local bases.
Fans are slated to take over Jackson’s LODO, a sports bar and grill in downtown Denver, at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. The party will feature live broadcasts of Patriots All Access on WBZ, and appearances from Patriots cheerleaders, Pat Patriot and Gillette Stadium voice Mike “Sarge” Riley.
Former Super Bowl champions David Andrews and Adam Vinatieri will also be on hand.
“It’s a crazy kind of excitement,” Stone said. “All Patriots fans were complacent for so long. We took winning for granted, we really did, for years.”
“Who thought it would go this far?” she said of the Patriots 16-3 season.
Massachusetts
4-year-old Massachusetts girl saved after 911 dispatcher instructs parents how to perform CPR
The East Bridgewater, Massachusetts police and fire departments are giving thanks to a Holbrook dispatcher who they say helped save a 4-year-old girl’s life Monday night.
While working at the Holbrook Regional Emergency Communications Center at 5:32 p.m., authorities say Sophia Zervos answered a 911 call from two parents at a West Street home in East Bridgewater, reporting their daughter stopped breathing.
“We’re going to do CPR, OK?” asked dispatcher Sophia Zervos. “Are you with your child right now?”
The caller answered, “Yes.”
According to the callers, the child had no previous history of serious illness but recently experienced a fever.
In a calm manner, dispatcher Zervos began to give them clear and concise instructions:
“I want you to put the heel of your hand in the center of their chest, right between the nipples, and you’re going to push down hard and fast, two inches in depth,” dispatcher Zervos told the caller. “Ok? We’re going to start now. I’m going to count with you.”
As they waited for paramedics to arrive, Dispatcher Zervos counted for the caller as they performed CPR.
After two rounds of compressions, the parents said they saw a change in the child’s stomach. They say she threw up and started to breathe again.
A statement from East Bridgewater police said, the child is “doing much better,” according to the family.
WBZ went to the family’s home for comment but were unable to reach them.
Massachusetts
What to know about the charges filed in Trooper Enrique Delgado-Garcia’s death
Over a year later, several members of the Massachusetts State Police are now facing charges in the death of trooper Enrique Delgado-Garcia — the result of a lengthy independent investigation into the tragedy at the Massachusetts State Police Academy.
It was revealed during a news conference on Monday that a state police academy supervisor and three instructors have been indicted following a nine-month independent investigation into the trooper’s death.
Delgado-Garcia showed concussion-like symptoms after unauthorized and unsupervised boxing matches during training, according to investigators.
The death of a trainee from injuries suffered at the Massachusetts State Police Academy in New Braintree in September of 2024 have prompted charges against three staff members.
A special statewide grand jury heard from more than 150 witnesses and reviewed hundreds of pieces of evidence before handing down the indictments.
Lt. Jennifer Penton and Troopers Edwin Rodriguez, David Montanez and Casey Lamonte are charged with involuntary manslaughter and causing serious bodily injury, with Penton also facing a perjury charge.
Read the indictments below:
“The evidence gathered by the grand jury compels criminal prosecution of certain members of the academy’s Defensive Tactics Unit,” independent investigator David Meier said.
Meier noted that there was no evidence that Delgado-Garcia was targeted or “that anyone — academy staff, fellow trainees or any others — harbored any personal animosity toward” him.
The death of the trooper from injuries he suffered during a training exercise last year has prompted an in-depth look into the academy.
NBC10 Boston has reached out to the troopers; Edwin Rodriguez did not want to comment, while the rest were not reachable Monday night.
They will be summoned to court for arraignment and it is not clear if they will remain on duty.
The other recruit involved in the sparring will not face consequences, according to the attorney general. Mass. State Police said that since Delgado-Garcia’s death, the academy has suspended boxing training, installed new leadership and reviewed all training practices.
Massachusetts
Firefighters battling fire at Salem, Mass. hotel
Firefighters are battling a fire in a hotel in Salem, Massachusetts, on Monday morning.
The fire broke out around 9:30 a.m. at The Cove Hotel at 40 Bridge St. According to its website, the Cove Hotel is a 57-room boutique hotel.
Aerial footage showed numerous fire engines at the scene.
Salem police said in a Facebook post around 10:15 a.m. that the Fire Deparmtnet is working at an active fire at The Cove Hotel.
“Please avoid the area to allow firefighters to work the scene,” they said. “Anticipate road closures and detours.”
No further details were immediately available.
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