LEOMINSTER — On Friday, June 21, 2024, Officer Kevin Costa of the Leominster Police Department was dispatched to DRS Recycling, located at 563 Lancaster Street, following a report of a woman entering into and “disrupting” the business.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narratives of Officers Costa and Dion and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“Let it be known that my department issued body camera was recording during the extent of this incident,” Officer Costa said. “Upon arrival I recognized the female party from numerous past police interactions as Andrea Lewis. I asked Andrea what she was doing at the business, and she stated she had locked her phone inside the office. Andrea also stated that her car had stalled out earlier, which is true because I found her vehicle vacant this morning in the middle of Johnson Street and Viscoloid Ave.”
According to police, Andrea Lewis, 46, is a resident of 45 Fox Meadow Road in Leominster.
“Andrea stated that she knew the boss of the factory and he had locked her phone in the office,” Officer Costa said. “Let it be known that during the interaction, Andrea continued to claim that Officer [Tanner] Jakola and I were not real police officers. At that time officers were dressed in full police uniform with Leominster Police patches affixed to both shoulders.”
At this time, the manager of DRS Recycling approached Officer Costa to speak with him. He said that Lewis was at the business this morning and he assumed that she was a new employee. As the day went on, the manager noticed that Lewis wasn’t working, but rather, she was just walking around the factory. When the manager asked her to leave, she said that she “needed to get her phone numbers first.” At this time, the manager said he did not wish to trespass Lewis, but he did want her off the property.
“As I was speaking with [the manager], I heard Officer Jakola advise Andrea not to enter another business,” Officer Costa said. “Andrea continued to enter the business, and Officer Jakola directed her out of the business. I then looked in [the manager’s] direction and informed him that she was not leaving, and officers would need Andrea to be trespassed before forcing her to leave.”
At this point, the manager stated that he would like Lewis to be trespassed from the property forever.
“Due to Andrea being unpredictable in her actions I pointed to [the manager] to inform her that he just trespassed her from the property,” Officer Costa said. “I advised Andrea that after this point if she did not leave it would be trespassing after notice, which is arrestable. Andrea continued to argue with officers, so I requested a supervisor, Sergeant [Sean] Ferguson, to come to the scene. Andrea stated that she needed to go inside DRS to retrieve her phone numbers or she wasn’t leaving.”
When Sgt. Ferguson arrived on scene, he told Lewis that if she didn’t leave, she would be placed under arrest.
“Andrea still did not leave and made numerous attempts to go back in the direction of DRS,” Officer Costa said.
When the officers informed Lewis she would be placed under arrest again, she dropped to the ground and stated she wasn’t going to be arrested.
“In order to de-escalate officers slowed the scene down and advised Andrea she had one last chance to leave the property without being arrested,” Officer Costa said. “Andrea then sparked another argument about needing phone numbers from the office, and at that time officers deemed that Andrea would not leave under her own power and advised Andrea that she was now under arrest for trespassing.”
As Sgt. Ferguson, Officer Jakola, and Officer Costa tried to handcuff Lewis, she laid flat on her back on the floor and began kicking her feet.
“Officer Jakola gained control of her feet and Sgt. Ferguson and I attempted to get Andrea on her stomach,” Officer Costa explained. Later adding, “During this time, Sgt. Ferguson requested my baton, which Andrea heard. Andrea reached up toward my belt and I felt a downward pull on my duty belt in the area of my taser. Let it be known my taser was never taken out of the holster. Officers were able to get Andrea on her stomach where both arms were tucked under her body. Sgt. Ferguson was able to use my baton to pry Andrea’s left arm behind her back, which I handcuffed. Sgt. Ferguson then got her right arm behind her back, which was also handcuffed. Andrea was then rolled to her side to allow her to catch her breath.”
Lewis was then assisted to her feet and guided to the back of a cruiser by police.
“When we got the cruiser, Andrea continued to actively resist,” Officer Costa said. “Andrea in the process kicked Sgt. Ferguson in the testicles. Let it be known that Andrea was wearing sneakers at the time she kicked Sgt. Ferguson.”
Once the rear door of the cruiser was opened, Lewis said “I am not going in there.”
“Officers attempted to assist Andrea in the back seat but she planted her feet,” Officer Costa said. “I was able to pick her feet up and get them inside the cruiser, where the door was then shut. Officers transported Andrea back to the station with lights and sirens due to her resistant behavior.”
When they arrived at the station, Lewis willingly got out of the cruiser, but once inside the booking area, she began screaming and kicking the officers.
“I observed Officer [Timothy] Galvin, Officer Costa, and Officer Jakola attempting to move the female arrestee, Andrea Lewis, to the restraint chair,” Officer Dion said. “Andrea was screaming, kicking, and pulling her body away from the officers trying to get away from them. Sgt. [Julio] Ramos entered and directed the officers to handcuff her to the booking wall; Andrea used her weight to slow officers down while continuing to pull her body in every direction to try to get away. At one point, Andrea hooked her foot on one of the counters to try to prevent officers from moving her. Once Andrea was secured by one arm to the booking wall, Officer Costa and Officer Jakola left to clean themselves and check for injury.”
Sgt. Ramos then began the booking process, while Officer Galvin, Officer Dion, and Officer Greenawalt stood by to assist in case Lewis became aggressive again.
When Sgt. Ramos directed Andrea to a holding cell to wait to be transported to court, she began yelling at officers, saying that she didn’t want to be in a cell. She then began to walk away from police, at which point Officer Galvin took hold of one of her arms, while Officer Greenawalt held onto her other arm. Once Officer Galvin and Greenawalt had control on Lewis, she dropped her weight and began kicking her legs, striking Officer Dion in the upper legs and chest.
“I grabbed onto Andrea’s legs and ordered her to stop kicking,” Officer Dion said. “Officer Galvin and I removed Andrea’s sneakers from her feet and then Andrea was carried by her arms into Female Cell 1. Andrea continued twisting her body and kicking her feet in the cell. Andrea’s chest was put on the bench, and she was ordered to stop kicking and pulling her arms so that the cuffs could be removed. Andrea put her foot on the ground and stopped kicking but continued twisting her upper body. Officer Greenawalt held Andrea’s left arm while Officer Galvin uncuffed her and I held Andrea’s right arm and wrist.”
Once she was uncuffed, the officers left the holding cell. As police were sliding the cell door shut, Lewis put her fingers in the door jam and tried to hold the door open.
“As officers tried to shut the door, she grabbed it with her hands to open it,” said Officer Shane Crawford, who went to the cell to assist the other officers after he heard screaming and saw officers physically fighting with Lewis on the police station’s security cameras. “Given Ms. Lewis’ previous violent, assaultive nature, coupled with the fact that she was attempting to escape from the cell, I did reach in with my right hand to shove her head backwards so that the cell door may shut. I then noticed that Ms. Lewis then attempted to bite me as her mouth was open and mouth moved towards my hand. I then felt Ms. Lewis’ teeth on the palm of my right hand. I pulled my hand away and the cell door was secured. I looked at my hand and while her teeth did not break the skin, I noticed red imprints on my skin from her teeth. I immediately sanitized my hands and washed it with soap and water.”
Lewis was charged with the following:
- Trespass
- Resist Arrest
- Two counts of Assault & Battery with a Dangerous Weapon
- Assault & Battery on a Police Officer
- Assault & Battery Attempt to Disarm Police Officer
Sgt. Ferguson said that during his interaction with Lewis, “it was apparent” that she was “suffering from a behavioral health crisis” adding that she has a history of self-harm. As a result, Sgt. Ferguson completed at Section 12 for her and after she was released on bail she was transported to the emergency room for evaluation. (A Section 12 is a compulsory admission of a mentally disordered person to a hospital. It’s governed by Massachusetts General Law Chapter 123, Section 12).
Lewis was arraigned in Leominster District Court on July 1, 2024. (A default warrant was issued following her initial June 24, 2024, court appearance, on the criminal docket Judge Mark Noonan wrote “default warrant to issue. Defendant was sectioned after release.”)
During her arraignment on July 1, her default warrant was recalled and the fee for it was also waived.
Her next court appearance was a pretrial conference scheduled for Aug. 2, 2024.
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