Clinton police respond to disturbance, arrest intoxicated man covered in blood after struggle

CLINTON — On Thursday, February 6, 2025, at approximately 6:15 p.m., Officer Robert Champagne of the Clinton Police Department received two 911 calls regarding the area of 16 Beacon Street.

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

According to Officer Champagne, the first caller was a resident of 15 Beacon Street who said he heard a male party – later identified as William Barnett – yelling across the street and pounding on a door. The second caller identified herself as Barnett’s mother.

According to police, William Barnett, 23, is a resident of 16 Beacon Street, Clinton, MA.

“She stated that her son was very intoxicated and had hurt himself by punching a mirror,” Officer Champagne said.

The woman said Barnett was currently in her truck outside the residence.

“She sounded very shaken in her voice during the 911 call,” Officer Champagne said. “She also stated that she was in the hallway at the neighbor’s house while her son was inside her black pickup truck. A horn could be heard beeping in the background of the 911 call.”

Officer Champagne said he arrived shortly after with Officer Gerald Guerra and Officer Alexander Ruel.

“I immediately saw a woman, whom I identified as [Barnett’s mother], on the neighbor’s porch yelling and pointing in the direction of the backyard of 16 Beacon,” Officer Champagne recounted. “She kept saying to me, ‘He is back there,’ and ‘Please get him.’ I asked for more information on what was going on, and she stated that he had broken her mirror in her house and he was going to break the back door. I could hear banging noises coming from the backyard where she was pointing.”

Officer Champagne entered the backyard of the residence through the fence and was met with Barnett on the back deck.

“Immediately, I noticed he was covered in blood on his sweatshirt and hands,” Officer Champagne said. “I told William to stay where he was as he began to approach me. I noticed he was walking in a stumbling manner, as if he were drunk. William immediately began to yell at me, so I requested additional units. Due to his already aggressive manner toward me, I decided to place him in handcuffs while Officer Guerra asked if he needed medical attention and requested an ambulance to our location. While escorting William out of the backyard, both of us slipped on ice and fell to the ground. We escorted him out of the backyard and into the front yard area. He then began to yell, and we secured him in handcuffs.”

Officer Champagne stated that while Barnett was handcuffed, he noticed his pockets were full and began searching him for weapons.

“He continued to yell at me and leaned toward me while I was searching his pockets,” Officer Champagne said. “I grabbed the upper part of his sweatshirt fabric by his chest area (sternum) to keep his upper body from leaning toward me and causing any injuries (such as a headbutt or bite) while I continued the search. William began yelling ‘get your hands off my throat.’ I informed him my hands are not on his throat but on his chest. Officer Guerra and Officer Ruel had control of his body to prevent him from falling. As I switched my control hand from right to left while maintaining a grip on his hoodie fabric on his sternum, he leaned his head forward and began to wipe blood and mucus from his face onto my left arm and hand. We then had to escort him to the ground.”

Officer Champane informed the other officer that Barnett had wiped blood on him and instructed them to have him sit down.

“We then gave him commands to sit down,” Officer Champagne said. “We pushed his body downward in a controlled manner while maintaining control and balance so that he did not fall or get hurt. I told him to stay seated, cross his legs, and not move.

At this time, Clinton Fire/EMS arrived on the scene to assess Barnett for injuries.

“During the assessment, he continued to be uncooperative by yelling at the firefighters and not listening to them,” Officer Champagne said. “I then spoke further with his mother, and she showed me the mirror that he had broken inside the house. I documented the damage with my body-worn camera and took photographs.”

Clinton Fire/EMS then informed Officer Champagne that they were going to transport Barnett to Clinton Hospital for evaluation, as he had a swollen hand and a laceration on his head.

“Officer Ruel rode in the ambulance for the transport, while Officer Guerra and I followed,” Officer Champagne said.

Barnett was charged with the following (Officer Champagne’s reasoning for the charges is provided in parentheses):

1. Assault & Battery on Police Officer (“Officer Champagne, with blood”)
2. Destruction of Property (“Mirror”)
3. Disturbing the Peace (“Mom & Neighbor”)
4. Disorderly Conduct

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.

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