Woman tased by Barre police during arrest for restraining order violation, later sentenced to jail

BARRE — On Tuesday, February 18, 2025, Detective Robert Brooks and Officer Zachary Warner of the Barre Police Department was dispatched to a residence on Peach Street following a report of an unwanted woman at the property.

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

According to Officer Warner, a 45-year-old woman reported that Neyshkady Melendez was at the residence arguing with her ex-girlfriend, a 55-year-old woman. (According to court documents, the reporting party and Melendez’s ex-girlfriend reside together).

“It should be noted, all occupants at the residence during this incident are deaf,” Detective Brooks added.

According to police, Neyshkady Melendez, 31, resides on Main Street in South Barre, MA.

While officers were en route to the scene, dispatch advised that they believed Melendez’s ex-girlfriend had an active restraining order against her. Upon arrival, officers observed Melendez exiting the residence as [the reporting party] stood on the porch, yelling and pointing at her. Det. Brooks approached Melendez and attempted to communicate with her by typing back and forth on her phone.

“Throughout the conversation I learned Neyshkady has been at the residence since February 14,” Detective Brooks said. “Neyshkady stated she was leaving and has a ride coming to get her.”

Detective Brooks asked Melendez whether she was allowed to be at the residence, and she responded that she had been invited by her ex-girlfriend.

“Neyshkady began walking back towards the residence and I placed my body between her and the house preventing her from gaining access,” Detective Brooks said. “Dispatch advised they had records showing an active 209A [Abuse Prevention Order] against Neyshkady but could not find anything on Neyshkady’s Board of Probation.”

Officer Warner remained with Neyshkady Melendez while Det. Brooks returned to the cruiser to review Melendez’s Board of Probation record.

“I was able to locate Neyshkady’s BOP and learned [Melendez’s ex-girlfriend] does have an active 209A against Neyshkady until Dec. 12, 2025,” Det. Brooks said. “Per the order, Neyshkady must refrain from abuse, vacate/stay away from the residence, and have no contact with [her ex-girlfriend].”

Detective Brooks returned to Neyshkady and Officer Warner’s location and informed Officer Warner that the restraining order was still active.

“I communicated with Neyshkady via text thread on her phone and stated she was not allowed to be at the house and she was going to be placed into custody,” Det. Brooks said. “Neyshkady reported she was leaving with a ride on the way. I took out my handcuffs and Neyshkady began backing away from Officer Warner and I. I grabbed Neyshkady’s right wrist and Officer Warner grabbed her left wrist. At one point, Officer Warner lost control of Neyshkady’s wrist and Neyshkady punched Officer Warner in the nose resulting in a slight laceration.”

According to Det. Brooks, Melendez was placed on the ground and a “brief struggle ensued.”

“Neyshkady laid on her hands refusing to put them behind her back,” Det. Brooks said.

Detective Brooks stated that when Melendez refused to let her hands out, he used his baton in an attempt to gain leverage. He positioned the baton between her arms, which were underneath her body, in an effort to bring them out and closer to her chest.

“Officer Warner and I were able to gain control of Neyshkady’s left wrist and Neyshkady rolled onto her right side and began attempting to kick Officer Warner,” Det. Brooks added. “Officer Warner took out his taser and turned it on so she could see the two lights illuminating on her body. Due to Neyshkady being deaf, I took out my phone and typed, ‘Place your hands behind your back or you will be tased.’ I held up the text to Neyshkady for a period of time with no avail. Officer Warner and I again tried to gain control of Neyshkady and she began attempting to kick Officer Warner again. Due to Neyshkady’s physically assaultive behavior, Officer Warner then delivered a five second dry stun to Neyshkady’s leg area. Neyshkady rolled onto her back and Officer Warner and I attempted to place her into handcuffs, but she continued to resist. Eventually, I was able to secure Neyshkady into handcuffs.”

According to Det. Brooks, Officer Warner lifted Melendez to her feet and attempted to escort her to a cruiser. Melendez dropped her weight to the ground, refusing to walk. When Officer Warner tried to lift her by the legs to carry her, she kicked him in the legs. Officer Warner then drove his cruiser to their location, and Melendez was placed in the rear of the cruiser.

“I then spoke with the interpreter who called 9-1-1,” Det. Brooks said. “Due to [the reporting party] and [Melendez’s ex-girlfriend] being deaf, [the reporting party] called the interpreter services to use sign language so he could call the police. The interpreter stated [Melendez’s ex-girlfriend] and Neyshkady got into an argument. The argument escalated and became physical. [The reporting party] attempted to get between them and Neyshkady and [Melendez’s ex-girlfriend] kept fighting. [The reporting party] then attempted to call the interpreter services so they could call the police. Neyshkady was able to get [the reporting party’s] phone from her and attempted to break it by smashing it on the floor. I observed the phone and both the front and back of the phone were cracked. I asked [Melendez’s ex-girlfriend] if she wanted [the reporting party] to call the police and [Melendez’s ex-girlfriend] stated she did and wanted Neyshkady out of the house.”

Melendez was transported to the Barre Police Department for booking.

“Barre EMS came to the station to evaluate Neyshkady and Officer Warner,” Det. Brooks said. “Officer Warner contacted the on-call bail commissioner, Chris Hart, who denied bail. Officer Warner then transported Neyshkady to the Hampden County Regional Women’s Correction Center to be held until arraignment.”

Melendez was charged with:

1. Assault & Battery, Violate Abuse Prevention Order
2. Witness/Juror/Police/Court Official, Intimidate
3. Assault & Battery on Police Officer
4. Resist Arrest
5. Malicious Destruction of Property -$1,200

Melendez was arraigned in East Brookfield District Court on February 19, 2025.

During her arraignment, the charge of assault and battery in violation of an abuse prevention order was amended to a simple violation of a 209A restraining order at the request of Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr., who noted in a motion that “there is not an A&B alleged in the statement of facts.” The charge of intimidation of a witness was dismissed at the Commonwealth’s request.

Melendez pleaded guilty to assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest, and malicious destruction of property under $1,200. She was held in jail following her arraignment after the court ordered her detained without bail under Massachusetts General Laws c. 276, §§ 58A and 58B, pending a dangerousness hearing. The judge cited her existing probation status, prior restraining order violations, and a history of similar offenses as reasons for detention.

Melendez remained in custody until her next court appearance—a pretrial hearing on March 12, 2025. At that hearing, she was ordered to serve six additional days in jail, having already received 22 days of credit on each 28-day sentence for the charges of violating a restraining order and malicious destruction of property under $1,200. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently.

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