The Select Board heard a comprehensive presentation on the role of the school resource officer in supporting students at its meeting Thursday night. Joined by members of the School Department and Hopkinton Youth & Family Services, Hopkinton Police Department Chief...
Police & Fire
HPD officer candidate questions why employment offer was rescinded in August in light of officer shortage
From the time he was a teen, Melvin Ligon Jr., 47, knew he wanted to work in law enforcement. Inspired by officers he met while attending the Boston Public Schools, the Boston native devoted his career to working as a security and school police officer. The Millis...
Arrests/Police Log, Oct. 25 edition
ARRESTS None this week. [Editor's note: Hopkinton Independent policy for the arrests section is to remove the arrested individual's name after it has been posted for approximately one week.] POLICE LOG October 17 2:19 a.m. On East Main Street, Officer Nicholas Walker...
Select Board appoints new police officer, reviews HPD goals
The Select Board at its meeting Tuesday night unanimously appointed Brian Ziniti as a Hopkinton Police Department officer and focused on the department’s goals. Police Chief Joseph Bennett, who attended the meeting via Zoom, introduced Ziniti to the board. “Hopkinton...
Arrests/Police Log, Oct. 18 edition
ARRESTS None this week. [Editor's note: Hopkinton Independent policy for the arrests section is to remove the arrested individual's name after it has been posted for approximately one week.] POLICE LOG October 10 1:04 a.m. Officer Nicholas Pratt made checks of the...
Police to host Early Release Hangout at Town Common this Friday
With early release days at Hopkinton schools leading to problems downtown over the past year, the Hopkinton Police Department is offering a potential solution, hosting an Early Release Hangout this Friday from noon until 2 p.m. at the Town Common. The free event, for...
Fire chief, DPW director respond to recent water discoloration issues
As the town works to resolve several instances of water discoloration over the past two weeks, the town’s interim fire chief explained that one cause was from a power outage Thursday morning in the neighborhood near the Eversource LNG facility. “A security guard at...
Select Board roundup: FY 25 budget message calls for level-service funding; police hiring policy discussed
The Select Board during its meeting Tuesday night approved by a 4-0 vote a budget message that stressed frugality to town departments when making their fiscal year 2025 budget requests. The town is bracing for a challenging budget season, with a current projected...
Arrests/Police Log, Oct. 11 edition
ARRESTS None this week. [Editor's note: Hopkinton Independent policy for the arrests section is to remove the arrested individual's name after it has been posted for approximately one week.] POLICE LOG October 3 1:23 a.m. Officer Nicholas Saletnik checked on Lumber...
Eversource addresses Maple Street gas leak after 2 weeks of complaints
On Friday morning, an Eversource crew began to dig up the yard in front of 1 Maple Street to repair a leaking gas line in response to residents’ complaints of a pervasive noxious odor for the past two weeks. The Independent began investigating the issue Thursday after...
Arrests/Police Log, Oct. 4 edition
ARRESTS September 29 7:26 p.m. On West Main Street, Sergeant Aaron O’Neil and Officer Brennan Grimley conducted a motor vehicle stop and arrested a 40-year-old Oakhurst Road resident, charging him with operation of a motor vehicle with license suspended for OUI...
Arrests/Police Log, Sept. 27 edition
ARRESTS September 24 2:59 a.m. A caller reported a car struck a pole on Hayden Rowe Street. A second caller reported airbags deployed, and a female driver was ambulatory and coherent. Sergeant William Burchard and Officers Augusto Diaz and Nicholas Walker responded...
After controversial delay, Select Board discusses hiring/promotion policy with police chief
The police hiring controversy dominated much of Tuesday’s Select Board meeting, as members held a discussion with Chief Joseph Bennett about the department’s policy and how board members could become more involved. The controversy started at the Sept. 5 meeting, when...
Arrests/Police Log, Sept. 20 edition
ARRESTS None this week. [Editor's note: Hopkinton Independent policy for the arrests section is to remove the arrested individual's name after it has been posted for approximately one week.] POLICE LOG September 12 12:32 a.m. Officer Nicholas Walker checked on a...
Select Board members respond to criticism after vote to delay police promotions
In the wake of a surprise 4-1 vote to delay the promotion request for two Hopkinton Police Department officers to the rank of sergeant at the Select Board meeting on Sept. 5, one Select Board member explained his rationale for his decision to the Hopkinton...
Fire chief: Missing man likely never went far from Golden Pond but was hidden in bushy area
The elderly man who disappeared from the Golden Pond assisted living facility on Sunday night and was rescued Tuesday morning never strayed that far from the grounds, interim Hopkinton Fire Chief Gary Daugherty believes, but because he was in a “very deep, thick area...
Arrests/Police Log, Sept. 13 edition
ARRESTS September 8 2:17 a.m. Officer Nicholas Saletnik stopped a vehicle that passed him at 80 mph on West Main Street. A 29-year-old from Milford was arrested and charged with unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, speeding in violation of special regulation, and...
UPDATE: Missing elderly man found ‘conscious and alert’ near Golden Pond
[Editor's note: This story was updated with information from the State Police at 2 p.m.] The elderly man who had been missing since Sunday night was found alive at approximately 10:40 a.m. Tuesday by members of the Massachusetts State Police Special Emergency Response...
Police report elderly man has gone missing in town
The town sent out an emergency dispatch to residents Monday morning after an 84-year-old went missing Sunday night. James "Jim" Noon, a white male who stands 5-foot-7 and weighs 150 pounds, was last seen in the area of 50 West Main Street (which is The Communities at...
Hopkinton Police Department warns public about scam calls from person pretending to be an officer
The Hopkinton Police Department issued a warning to the public after residents reported scam phone calls from someone purporting to be a Hopkinton police officer. According to an HPD post on Facebook, the residents who reported the calls noted that "the number the...