CLINTON — On Sunday March 10, 2024, at approximately 10:18 p.m., the Clinton Police Department dispatched Officer John McNamara to 279 Water Street following several reports of a vehicle crashing into a telephone pole in the vicinity.
(The account and quotations in this article were taken from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer McNamara.)
At about 10:20 p.m., Officer McNamara arrived on scene. Officers Shane Gilman, Michael Frick, and Sergeant Joseph Lefebvre arrived shortly thereafter.
“Upon my arrival I observed a telephone pole down in the middle of Water Street, a male party, and a Gray Ford Explorer down the street parked in the middle of the lane of traffic,” Officer McNamara said.
The male party Officer McNamara saw on scene was a witness to the accident who resides on Water Street. He told the officer that after he heard the accident, he came outside and saw a man dressed in black exit the vehicle and take off down Water Street.
Officer McNamara then went down Water Street to the gray Ford Explorer and called the plate number into dispatch.
“I observed heavy front-end damage, multiple airbag deployment, and no one inside the vehicle,” Officer McNamara said.
Dispatch informed Officer McNamara that the owner of the vehicle is Damien Michael Faherty, 50, of 31 Elm Street in Clinton.
At this time, Sgt. Lefebvre informed Officer McNamara that he was on Orange Street near Haskell Avenue with Faherty. Sgt. Lefebvre requested the presence of another officer along with an ambulance.
“Sergeant Lefebvre stated he found a male party wearing black in that area, and asked him what his name was,” Officer McNamara said. “The male kept walking, Sergeant Lefebvre asked again what his name was and he stated it was Damien. Sergeant Lefebvre then asked if he was involved in a motor vehicle accident. Mr. Faherty stated he did not remember.”
Sgt. Lefebvre then asked Faherty if he was injured and asked him to sit on the ground until the ambulance arrived on scene.
Shortly thereafter, Officers McNamara and Gilman arrived at Sgt. Lefebvre’s location.
“We then asked Mr. Faherty how many drinks he had; he stated he did not recall and that he did not have any injuries,” Officer McNamara said. “I observed Mr. Faherty to have glossy bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage from his breath. Mr. Faherty put his hands in his pockets multiple times after being asked not to.”
Officer Gilman then asked Faherty to stand up so he could pat frisk him for weapons. Faherty fell back when attempting to stand, so Officer Gilman had to help him up, Officer McNamara said.
Faherty had no weapons on him, only a wallet and vape pen. He then provided his Massachusetts driver’s license which verified that his name Damien Faherty and he was – in fact – the registered owner of the vehicle.
At approximately 10:28 p.m., the ambulance arrived to evaluate Faherty. Faherty told the ambulance personnel that he was not injured and signed a document to refuse medical treatment.
Officer McNamara reported that while in the ambulance, an EMT inquired about Faherty’s speed at the crash time, to which Faherty responded he was traveling around 35 miles per hour.
“It should be noted inside the ambulance I again detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from Mr. Faherty,” Officer McNamara said. “At this time, I instructed Mr. Faherty to move to a well-lit flat area away from the ambulance. I advised Damien I would be conducting Standardized Field Sobriety tests to determine if it was safe to operate a motor vehicle.”
For the first test Officer McNamara asked Faherty to say the ABCs slowly without singing them.
“I demonstrated and asked if he had any questions,” Officer McNamara said. “Mr. Faherty said ‘no’ and began saying the ABCs. Mr. Faherty got to ‘J’ then stated ‘L,’ ‘K,’ ‘R’ and began to mumble then say ‘I’m done with this $h*t.’”
Officer McNamara then asked Faherty to do the one leg stand, instructing him to keep his feet together and hands at his sides.
Officer McNamara instructed Faherty to raise one foot about six inches off the ground and begin counting out loud.
When he was told to start, Mr. Faherty lifted his right foot slightly off the ground, lost his balance, and placed it back down, Officer McNamara said. He then attempted to lift his left foot, barely raising it off the ground again, became unsteady, and put it down. After this, Faherty said ‘ya got me’ and placed his hands behind his back.
Due to Faherty’s performance up to that point and his lack of balance, Officer McNamara chose not to administer any further tests, and formed the opinion that Faherty was under the influence of alcohol and his ability to safely operate a motor vehicle was impaired.
Officer McNamara arrested Faherty, escorted him to the back of his cruiser and transported him to the Clinton Police Department for booking.
During the booking process, Faherty refused a breathalyzer test.
“Upon checking Damien Faherty’s Board of Probation record through MA CJIS [the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) database] it was found that Mr. Faherty has a previous Operating under the Influence conviction,” Officer McNamara said.
Faherty’s license was suspended and he was charged with the following:
- OUI Liquor (Second Offense)
- Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle
- Marked Lanes Violation
- Leave Scene of Property Damage
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from earlier this month, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to get the court documents for the incident. FOIAs are time consuming.
