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LEOMINSTER – On Thursday, Jan. 12 at 8:30 p.m., Officers Tyler Labell and Christian Edge of the Leominster Police Department were dispatched to 2 State Street, Apartment B, following a report of an unwanted guest.
According to Officer Labell’s Narrative for the incident, upon arrival, he knocked on the door of the apartment. As a man answered the door, another individual came around the corner of the stairwell and looked at the officer.
“I asked the male in the apartment if that was the gentleman that he wanted to leave and he stated, ‘yes,’” wrote Officer Labell in his Narrative. “I asked the male to go back inside while I spoke with the other individual. The other individual identified himself as Mr. Nicholas Shepard. Nicholas stated that he would try calling for a ride and agreed to sit down on the stairs. I asked Ofc. Edge to stay with Nicholas while I spoke with the caller.”
According to Leominster police, Shepard is an unmarried 35-year-old resident of Ashburnham Street in Fitchburg.
Officer Labell said he knocked on the door again and the caller invited him into his apartment. The caller identified himself as Seth Abramson [name has been changed to protect the identity of the caller].
According to Officer Labell, Abramson said that he knows Shepard and invited him in because the weather was bad that day. Abramson added that they were drinking alcohol together, and at one point, Shepard asked him if he could borrow money to get some more alcohol. When Abramson told Shepard that he wouldn’t give him any money, Abramson said Shepard “became aggressive” and started making comments that were making him uncomfortable. Abramson alleged that Shepard then flipped over his coffee table, but didn’t break anything. Abramson then told Officer Labell that even though he tried to help Shepard out, he didn’t want him staying at his apartment anymore.
Officer Labell then left the apartment to speak with Shepard.
“I went up the stairs and saw Nicholas was on facetime with a female,” wrote Officer Labell in his Narrative. “When Nicholas saw me, he put up his middle finger towards myself and Ofc. Edge and said, ‘F*ck you.’ Nicholas stated that he did not have a ride. Nicholas stated that he lives in Fitchburg and did not want to leave. Nicholas continued calling myself an a$$hole and saying ‘f*ck you.’ Nicholas then stated, ‘I’d rather knock cops out. I’d rather kill cops. I don’t like those mother f*ckers.’ Nicholas is slurring his words and asks if he is detained. I told him he could leave, and he stated he was going to stay all night. Nicholas then calls me a ‘piece of sh*t.’”
At about 8:49 p.m., a member of the security team at the State Street apartment complex approached Officer Labell, stating that he wanted Shepard trespassed from the building. After Officer Labell told the security guard how to formally trespass Shepard, the guard approached Shepard and told him – in the presence of Officer Labell – that he was trespassed from State Street for a year. Officer Labell then informed Shepard that he was trespassed from the property and needs to leave or else he will be arrested.
According to Officer Labell, Shepard called them inhumane, said “f*ck you,” and continued to yell a string of profanity in their direction.
“Nick then calls us both pieces of sh*t,” wrote Officer Labell in his Narrative. “Nick proceeds to call me an a$$hole. Ofc. Edge and I de-escalated the situation by waiting for Nicholas to calm down.”
At about 8:56 p.m., Shepard allegedly got up and walked outside, but didn’t stop yelling at the officers.
“Nick then tells us to f*ck each other. Nick turns around and says ‘f*ck you’ again multiple times. Nick then says he hopes we die in a shootout,” wrote Officer Labell in his Narrative.
The officers then got into their cruisers and followed Shepard at a distance.
“Ofc. Edge and I keep a distance hoping Nicholas continues walking. Nicholas yells when he gets a little further away. We keep our distance but keep our eyes on Nicholas as he continues to walk,” wrote Officer Labell in his Narrative.
Once the officers watched Shepard cross N. Main Street and enter Tom’s Package store, they cleared the scene and decided to summon Shepard for disorderly conduct.
At 9:20 p.m., Officer Labell was dispatched to 19 State Street because security noticed Shepard walking back toward the apartment complex. Security watched Shepard until the police arrived.
“Upon arrival at approximately 21:27HRS [9:27 p.m.] security was parked in front of 17 State Street,” wrote Officer Labell in his Narrative. “I noticed Nicholas leaning against the door to enter the building. When I first got up to Nick, I did not get a response from him. About 30 seconds later, Nicholas tells me that I have to get his tobacco from where he was earlier. I informed Nicholas that he was trespassing and he stated that he came back for his tobacco. Nicholas then states he is not doing anything illegal. I tell him again that he is trespassing,. I ask Nicholas multiple times if he needs to go to the hospital. Nicholas states that he does not need to go to the hospital. I then tell Nicholas that he is under arrest for trespassing and go in to grab his left wrist.”
Before he was placed into a marked cruiser and transported to the police station for booking, Shepard called Officer Labell a “piece of sh*t” and a “moron.”
According to Officer Derek Doiron’s Narrative, when Officer Labell arrived at the station with Shepard, he refused to exit the cruiser and continued shouting expletives, such as “f*ck you!”
Four police officers had to remove Shepard from the cruiser and escort him to the booking desk.
“He made his legs limp, forcing us to carry him,” wrote Officer Doiron in his Narrative. “I carried his left arm area. Once inside, Nicholas was uncooperative and actively resistant to attempts to handcuff him to the pole adjacent to the booking chair. He began thrashing and pulling away from officers.”
Before placing him into the booking chair, police pat frisked Shepard for weapons and found nothing on him. After he was placed into the chair, Shepard began hitting his head on the table.
“He began thrashing and pulling away from officers. After pat-frisking him for weapons (found none) officers sat him into the chair, where he began hitting his head against the table,” wrote Officer Doiron in his Narrative. “Eventually officers were able to seat him in the chair properly and prevent him from self-harm. We noticed that he had blood coming from one of his wrists. Blood got all over the handcuffs and the arrestee chair. He eventually stopped moving, slumped his head down and became unresponsive. He was still breathing and maintained a consistent pulse.”
The Leominster Fire Department was called to the station and Shepard was then transported to the hospital.
Shepard was charged with trespassing after notice and two counts of disorderly conduct.
According to Officer Labell’s Narrative, Shepard was charged with a second count of disorderly conduct for his “tumultuous behavior” during the booking process, which could have “caused an officer to be injured.”
Officer Labell said that a use of force report was filled out “for going hands on in the booking area.”
Shepard was arraigned in Leominster District Court on Jan. 13, after which he was released on his own personal recognizance under the condition that he stay away from the State Street apartment complex.
He is scheduled to appear in court again on Feb. 23 for a pretrial hearing.
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Disclaimer 2: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from January, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to get the court documents for the incident. FOIAs are time consuming.
