Drunk resident of Leominster homeless shelter arrested after threatening officers, resisting arrest

LEOMINSTER — On Friday, December 27, 2024, Officer Jonathan Ramos and Officer Shane Crawford of the Leominster Police Department were dispatched to the South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC) shelter—a facility that provides housing and support services for individuals experiencing homelessness—after two calls for service came in at the same time for the same individual, one for a medical call, the other for a report of “a disorderly resident breaking items.”

(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Ramos and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)

“I arrived on scene to assist with the medical call involving Mr. Edgar Harry Smart,” Officer Jonathan Ramos said. Later adding, “Mr. Smart was inside of the kitchen area of the SMOC shelter. Please note that the SMOC shelter is not a private residence, but is a state-funded temporary shelter that is open to the public by invitees and licensees. Mr. Jose [last name redacted], who is a staff member at the shelter, advised me that Mr. Smart had fallen due to being intoxicated. This was the reason for the medical call for service.”

According to police, Edgar Harry Smart, Jr., 54, is a resident of 482 N Main Street, Apt. 308, Leominster, MA.

Officer Ramos said that he approached Smart, who was in the dining area, and told him that he needed to go to the hospital.

“Mr. Smart instantly began to clench his fists,” Officer Ramos said. “I determined Mr. Smart to be assaultive and warned him to stop his conduct to deescalate him. Mr. Smart proceeded to use profanity and to be belligerent towards me. I also determined Mr. Smart to be intoxicated, as he had a strong odor of alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath, spoke as if he had a heavy tongue, and had an inability to control himself. I requested that Vanessa Rivera, a co-response mental health clinician, speak with Mr. Smart. This was again another attempt at de-escalation as Mr. Smart appeared to be upset due to a deceased sibling and family trauma. Mr. Smart, while speaking to her, stated that if anyone got in his way, he would hurt them. Mr. Smart again continued to show his assaultive tendencies.”

Officer Ramos said that he then requested that Officer Crawford enter the SMOC shelter to assist him with “an out-of-control Mr. Smart.”

Jose, the SMOC staff member, told Officer Ramos that SMOC was going to terminate Smart’s stay, which Officer Ramos said, would revoke his right to remain on the property.

“Mr. Smart continued to flex his upper body, grunt, and speak in a distressing manner,” Officer Ramos recounted. “Mr. Smart then slammed both his fists into a table and began to approach Officer Crawford. Mr. Smart was warned and directed to discontinue his behavior. Mr. Smart responded by telling the officer to ‘shut the f*ck up’ and became extremely flush in the face from screaming.”

Officer Ramos explained that, during the exchange between Officer Crawford and Smart, he was urging Smart to relax and encouraging him to discuss the issue.

“Mr. Smart continued to scream that we were not going to put him in that chair when he observed the Leominster Fire Department preparing the stretcher,” Officer Ramos said. “Mr. Smart continued his belligerent and assaultive behavior by pointing in Officer Crawford’s face and yelling. Again, I attempted to de-escalate Mr. Smart by encouraging him to go to the hospital. Mr. Smart finally began to exit the room and walked into the lobby of the SMOC shelter where the stretcher was. Mr. Smart flexed his upper body again in my face and stated, ‘Don’t f*cking push me.’”

Officer Ramos said that although Smart sat on the stretcher, he stood up again, which made him “uncooperative.”

“Mr. Smart, after being continuously aggressive, assaultive, and belligerent, stood up face to face with me,” Officer Ramos said. “I perceived that an assault was imminent from Mr. Smart. Mr. Smart then raised his hand toward my face in a pointing motion. I believed that Mr. Smart was attempting to poke me in the face and contact my eyes, which are a sensitive part of my body. At this time, I informed Mr. Smart that he was under arrest. I placed Mr. Smart under arrest for being in violation of MGL 272/53 disorderly conduct and MGL 266/120 trespassing after notice. I also advised him that he was committing an assault on me. This assault occurred in a public location that resulted in a breach of peace, as there were other patrons entering the establishment witnessing this incident.”

Officer Ramos said that when he attempted to place Smart under arrest, Smart tensed up and refused to give him his hands. Officer Ramos responded by grabbing Smart’s lower and upper body to direct him to the ground to gain “immediate and conclusive control” over Smart.  

“Mr. Smart continued to tense his muscles and refused to willingly place his hands behind his back,” Officer Ramos explained. “I transitioned to the rear of Mr. Smart, grabbing his legs, and pinned them against his buttocks (contact controls) to prevent him from further assaulting any other officers.”

Officer Ramos reported that during the physical altercation, Smart knocked his body-worn camera off his chest, causing it to strike the ground.

“Soon after, officers on scene were able to gain control of Mr. Smart and place him in handcuffs behind his back,” Officer Ramos said. “Mr. Smart was searched incident to arrest and transported to the Leominster Police Department for standard booking procedures.”

Ramos charged Smart with the following (Officer Ramos’ reasoning for the charges is included in quotations):

1. Disorderly Conduct (Subsequent Offense): “Mr. Smart purposefully, willingly, and repeatedly created a risk of public inconvenience and annoyance by engaging in tumultuous and aggressive behavior that served no legitimate purpose. Mr. Smart event stated that if someone got in the way, he would hurt them.”
2. Trespassing After Notice: “Mr. Smart remained on the property of the SMOC shelter without having the right to do so since Mr. [Jose] terminated his stay. Mr. Smart, after being given ample time to leave the property, refused to do so.”
3. Resisting Arrest: “Mr. Smart tensed his muscles and used physical force to prevent three officers from placing him under arrest. Three counts.”
4. Vandalism: “Mr. Smart, while resisting arrest, caused my body-worn camera to be knocked off my chest and to strike the ground. My body-worn camera sustained scratches to the raised ridges that protect the camera lens. This damage was a direct result of Mr. Smart’s resistance.”
5. Assault: “Mr. Smart intentionally engaged in a menacing conduct by being aggressive and pointing in my face, which caused me to fear an imminent battery.”

Smart was arraigned in Leominster District Court on Dec. 30, 2024. Following his arraignment, Smart was released on his own personal recognizance under the condition that he stay away from the SMOC shelter in Leominster.

Smart’s next court date is a pretrial conference scheduled for February 7, 2025.

Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from December 2024, 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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