Two Massachusetts State troopers appear in court for alleged domestic violence
Two state troopers appeared in Plymouth County District Court this week for two separate incidents of alleged domestic violence.
Trooper Joseph Ward was charged and arraigned with assault and battery on a family/household member, assault with a dangerous weapon (two counts, one with a handgun and the other with a knife), kidnapping, and intimidation, according to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office.
His salary is listed as $80,213, partly paid as a cadet last year.
The State Police have relieved Ward of his duties after learning about the charges.
“Upon learning of these serious charges, we immediately relieved the Trooper of duty and ensured his transport to the Plymouth Police Department, where he was taken into custody,” a spokesperson for the Massachusetts State Police told the Herald.
According to reports from Boston 25, the alleged incident occurred on Jan. 10 between the trooper and his girlfriend, who is a police officer in Barnstable. Ward allegedly escalated an argument with the victim, forcing her to call in sick to work, threatening her while brandishing knives and a gun, and physically preventing her from fleeing their home.
Ward is being held pending a dangerousness hearing on Monday.
The other, now suspended Trooper in the court was Michael Gagnon, who’d been arraigned in December for allegedly physically assaulting a child, the Herald reported at the time.
Gagnon was back in front of a judge Wednesday for a pre-trial hearing and to be arraigned on an additional charge of intimidating a witness, according to the Essex County District Attorney’s Office. The Essex DA is handling the case because of a conflict with the Plymouth DA’s office, which has jurisdiction over the town of Plymouth, where the crime allegedly took place.
Gagnon was also suspended from the State Police following his arrest and is expected back in court on March 24 for a pre-trial hearing. He earned $107,065 last year, state payroll records show.
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Following the arrest and suspension of both troopers, the Mass State Police issued statements saying that they maintain a “zero-tolerance policy against all forms of domestic violence,” and will closely follow the court proceedings as they conduct their own internal affairs investigations.
