ORANGE — On Friday, May 24, 2024, at 3:53 p.m., Shelburne Control Dispatch Center informed the Orange Police Department about suspicious activities allegedly taking place at Central Cemetery located at 49 Grove Street.
Officer Jungfil Seo of the Orange Police Department began his investigation by calling the woman who reported the incident to the Shelburne Control Dispatch Center.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narratives of Officer Seo and Sgt. Cole and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“I initially called the reporting party, [name redacted], due to today being so close to Memorial Day, thinking there might be people visiting loved ones,” Officer Seo said. “[The reporting party] stated that teenagers were yelling, screaming, and swearing, and that such behavior was inappropriate.”
After the phone call, Officer Seo responded to Central Cemetery, arriving on scene at 3:57 p.m. and patrolled the cemetery.
“Unable to locate anyone, I spoke with [the reporting party] again,” Officer Seo said. “She stated that the teenagers were hiding in the bushes. I proceeded to the stairs and found two male subjects. Due to an obstructed view, I could not fully identify them, but I recognized one from previous police interactions, Patrick Ward. I instructed him to leave the area due to the noise complaint. Ward argued slightly, but the other male party agreed to leave.”
Instead of leaving the cemetery, Ward approached the officer.
“I inquired about his friend’s whereabouts. He refused to answer and sat on the stairs,” Officer Seo said. “I reiterated the complaint, and he became argumentative. After an unpleasant conversation, Ward left the area at 4:20 p.m. It should be noted that I detected a strong odor of alcoholic beverage emanating from him, along with red/glassy eyes and slurred speech.”
According to police, Patrick P. Ward, 44, is a resident of 19 Camp Road in Orange. He’s single and unemployed.
At approximately 4:43 p.m., Shelburne Control Dispatch Center informed the Orange Police Department about a report of harassment at the courthouse bus stop.
“As I was already in the area monitoring Ward’s situation, making sure he does not go back, I responded immediately,” Officer Seo said. “Upon arrival and parking my cruiser on Water Street, I observed Robin and Leon Perry approaching me. I also saw Ward sitting at the bus stop. The Perrys stated that Ward had approached them out of nowhere and began harassing them about being there. While I was speaking with them, Ward came over and demanded that the Perrys leave this town. I instructed the Perrys to write a written statement and bring it to the station.”
As he was explaining the situation to the Perrys, Officer Seo said he saw an individual named Shadey Tamayo walking towards the bus stop.
“I kept an eye on Ward and Mr. Shadey Tamayo,” Officer Seo said. “As Mr. Tamayo spoke with Ward, Ward got up and threw a plastic water bottle at him. It should be noted that this water bottle which Ward threw at Mr. Tamayo missed and did not hit Mr. Tamayo. I immediately intervened to separate the two.”
Officer Sydney Richardson arrived on the scene at this time.
“Having witnessed Ward throwing an object at Mr. Tamayo while yelling, screaming, and cursing in public, disturbing, and alarming three people already, I decided to arrest him,” Officer Seo said. “Due to his uncooperative and agitated behavior, Ward did not comply with instructions. I secured his left arm and used an arm bar takedown to escort him to the ground. He resisted giving up his right hand, so I applied a wristlock and eventually secured both his hands. I handcuffed him behind his back and approached Mr. Tamayo to ensure his safety. Mr. Tamayo stated that he only confronted Ward about owed money, and Ward responded by swinging at him and throwing a bottle at him.”
Officer Seo and Officer Richardson brought Ward to his feet and escorted him to the cruiser.
“During the search of his person, Ward remained tense and almost head butted me,” Officer Seo said. “Consequently, I secured him to the cruiser for the search. It should be noted that Ward kept yelling about carrying a needle and drugs. Officers did not locate any needles but found a burnt, clear plastic tube known to be a crack pipe. Ward was then placed and secured in the cruiser. Officer Richardson transported him to the station for booking, while I approached the Perrys and Mr. Tamayo. I advised them of the written statement process and requested they bring it to the station.”
At the station, Ward refused to exit the cruiser.
“Eventually, he complied upon Officer Richardson’s request but continued cursing at me,” Officer Seo said. “Inside the station, Officer Richardson took over the booking process due to Ward’s continued lack of composure. I stepped out, but his anger then shifted towards Officer Richardson. It is important to note that Ward threatened officers by stating he knew where we and our families lived. He also refused to answer booking questions or cooperate with photographs. I offered Ward the opportunity to call someone for bail, but he remained unresponsive and continued to exhibit extreme anger. It should also be noted that Ward intentionally spit inside the booking room. I contacted the bail commissioner, and the bail was set at $250.00 plus $40.00 fee.”
Ward was unable to get the bail money, so Officer Seo contacted the Franklin County House of Corrections and informed them of the situation.
The officers stepped outside of the booking room and decided to monitor Ward from outside using the camera, hoping he would calm down.
“However, Ward managed to get up on the bench and rip down the ceiling and wires,” Officer Seo said. “Officers immediately went into the booking room to remove all the fallen objects and handcuffed both of his hands to the bench.”
Officer Seo said that at this time, Sergeant Jonathan Cole went into the booking room to get Ward and transport him to the Franklin County House of Correction.
According to Sgt. Cole, when he first saw Ward in the booking room, he had white specks on his face from throwing up. He was also spitting and verbally threatening the officers.
“He was extremely upset with Officer Seo and was derogatory to him about his Asian descent,” Sgt. Cole added. “I advised Patrick of his being transported to the house of correction and went to handcuff him. He was resisting with his arms while being secured behind his back for handcuffing. He was brought to my cruiser and secured in rear seat for transport. He was still being belligerent and spitting on the window. During transport, Patrick made threats to come to my house as he knows where I live and that he will rape my wife. He was also making further threats about Officer Seo and did not calm down until around Barton Cove where I felt he passed out almost. I had to check on him after this a couple times to make sure he was breathing.”
When they arrived at the Franklin County House of Corrections, Sgt. Cole said that Ward was still yelling threats at him as they made their way into the facility. Sgt. Cole said he believed Ward was both under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
“He did admit to me that he used drugs earlier today and bragged that he was not caught with any on him,” Sgt. Seo said.
Ward was charged with the following:
- Assault
- Disorderly Conduct
- Disturbing the Peace
- Resisting Arrest
- Defacing or Damaging Property
Ward was arraigned in Orange District Court on May 28, 2024.
He attended a pretrial hearing on July 8, 2024.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from May, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to get the court documents for the incident. FOIAs are time consuming.
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