Webster man arrested after burning sage to “cleanse demons,” setting off fire alarms and causing public disturbance

WEBSTER — On Tuesday, April 1, 2025, at approximately 4:50 p.m., Officer Robert Larochelle of the Webster Police Department responded to 30 Hill Street to assist the Webster Fire Department following a smoke alarm activation.

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

“I was first to arrive and I parked my cruiser around the corner on Carter Street to avoid getting stuck on Hill Street by the fire department,” Officer Larochelle said. “As I exited my vehicle, I heard yelling and swearing coming from the roadway. As I rounded the rear of my cruiser, I observed Massachusetts Registration [# redacted] parked in the roadway with a female operator screaming out the window.”

The female appeared to be very upset at a male who had just exited a vehicle with Oklahoma plates. He was later identified as her boyfriend and the father of her child, Niamke Daniels. Daniels was yelling back at her and was intermittently being held back by another male, who was later determined to be the driver of the Oklahoma-registered vehicle.

“Based on how quickly the incident was unfolding, I called and requested an additional police officer to respond to the scene,” Officer Larochelle said. “Based on the volatility between [the woman] and Niamke, I did not believe this was a safe environment for Webster Fire to step into. I also didn’t yet know why the fire alarms were going off and if that was connected to the disturbance.”

According to police, Niamke Daniels, 44, is a resident of 30 Hill Street in Webster, MA.

Officer Larochelle said that – at several points – the operator of the Oklahoma-registered vehicle was physically holding Daniels back from “running up on” the woman and the officer as he attempted to calm her down.

“Based on the neighbors being actively involved in calming down Niamke, I believed my time was better served attempting to ascertain what was transpiring,” Officer Larochelle said. “[The woman] was extremely agitated and had to be refocused several times.”

Officer Larochelle added that, at one point, Daniels broke free from the man who had been holding him back and ran toward the officer and the woman, yelling “f*ck you” before taking off his jacket as if preparing to fight.

“I’ve been involved in numerous fights throughout my career and I know that when an individual starts taking their jacket off, it’s a pre-attack indicator of an impending assault,” Officer Larochelle said. “At one point, it took 3-4 neighbors to hold back Niamke from assaulting either myself or [the woman]. The neighbors were actively involved in trying to quell Niamke’s disturbance, so I remained with [the woman] in an attempt to get more information and keep her safe.”

At this time, Officer Nicholas Caruso and Officer Tom Motyka arrived on scene to assist.

“Niamke, knelt down and Officer Caruso put him in handcuffs after Niamke stated something to the effect of ‘take me to jail,’” Officer Larochelle said. “Based on Niamke’s disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace he was placed under arrest. In addition to that, Niamke was exhibiting signs of being incapacitated by alcohol. Niamke was slurring his words, erratic, bloodshot and glassy eyes and had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath.”

Officer Larochelle said that after Daniels was transported to the Webster Police Department, he refused to cooperate with the booking procedure.

“Once back at the Webster Police Station, Officer Motyka and Officer Caruso were unable to book Niamke as he continued his erratic behavior by yelling, kicking the inside of the cruiser and then abruptly stopping and slumping over,” Officer Larochelle said. Later adding, “Niamke was escorted to the holding cell where his clothing was removed to his boxers. Based on Niamke not answering booking questions and being extremely intoxicated we were unable to screen him for self-harm. Myself and other officers escorted Niamke to cell 2, where I removed his sox and shirts and performed a quick search of the cell to minimize his opportunity to damage the cell or vandalize it with toilet paper.”

Officer Larochelle stated that, upon reviewing Niamke Daniels’ paperwork, he found that Daniels did not have a Massachusetts Board of Probation (BOP) record. However, after reviewing Daniels’ III—an Interstate Identification Index report that provides a national summary of an individual’s criminal history—he observed that Daniels had extensive criminal convictions and was currently on probation.

According to Officer Larochelle, the report showed that Daniels was charged with Breach of the Peace in the second degree by New Haven, Connecticut police on October 8, 2021, and was found guilty of that charge on May 5, 2022. The report also indicated that Daniels had previously been charged with Breach of Peace 2 by New Haven police on June 25, 2019, and was found guilty on July 29, 2019.

Niamke was charged with the following:

• Disturbing the Peace (Subsequent Offense)
• Disorderly Conduct (Subsequent Offense)

Officer Larochelle said that Niamke was also placed under protective custody.

“I would later find out after speaking with both [the woman] and Webster Fire Department that Niamke started to burn sage in order to cleanse the demons from the apartment,” Officer Larochelle said. “Niamke burning the sage set off the fire alarms and also started a verbal argument between [the woman] and Niamke. The Webster Fire Department had to set up mobile fans in order to exhaust the smoke from [the woman] and Niamke’s apartment.”

Daniels was arraigned in Dudley District Court on April 2, 2025.

He attended a pretrial hearing on May 21, 2025.

Daniels’ next court appearance is scheduled for July 21, 2025.

Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in April, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.

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