Athol man arrested after fight with mother of his child in municipal lot; police say he later faked medical emergency

ATHOL — On Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at approximately 5:59 p.m., Athol Police Officer Zachary Duguay said a woman, identified as Brooke Hood, called to report a disturbance between herself and a man by the name of David Berry at the Municipal Parking Lot on Exchange Street.

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

In addition to Officer Duguay, Officers Brandon Newell and Sergeant Jarret Mousseau of the Athol Police Department also responded to the scene.

“Upon arrival, officers located several individuals congregated within the parking lot, with two of them being Brooke Hood and Mr. Berry,” Officer Duguay said.

Officer Duguay said that due to the chaotic scene and the crowd of individuals obstructing officers, Massachusetts State Trooper Yates, along with Officer Ben Kevosivic and Sergeant Jon Cole from the Orange Police Department, were dispatched to the scene to assist.

Officer Duguay said he then attempted to speak with Berry, who was visibly injured, with a bloody nose and blood on his shirt, while Sergeant Mousseau spoke with Hood.

According to police, David R. Berry, 50, is a resident of East Main Street in Orange, MA; and Brooke Hood, 31, is homeless in Athol, MA.

When Officer Duguay asked Berry what happened, he responded saying he fell and asked if he was being criminally charged. Officer Duguay told him that, at that time, he was not.

“Mr. Berry stated he was then going to walk away,” Officer Duguay said, adding that he asked Berry if he wanted medical attention and Berry declined.

After speaking with Hood, Sergeant Mousseau informed Officer Duguay and Officer Newell that there was probable cause to arrest Berry for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Officer Duguay said that as he attempted to grab Berry, Berry turned away from him and began to face Officer Newell in an aggressive manor.

“Based on Mr. Berry’s assaultive behavior and aggression toward officers, Officer Newell shoved Mr. Berry to the ground and Mr. Berry landed on a patch of grass,” Officer Duguay said.

Officer Duguay and Officer Newell then took hold of Berry’s arms, lifted him to his feet, and Officer Duguay placed handcuffs on him.

Officer Duguay then double locked the handcuffs and escorted Berry to the rear of a cruiser.

“Sergeant Mousseau advised Mr. Berry as to the reason why he was under arrest,” Officer Duguay added.

Officer Duguay said that while attempted to get the crowd to leave the area, Berry began to yell from inside the cruiser.

“Mr. Berry then laid himself down in the rear seat and began kicking the metal frame that protects the window of the cruiser,” Officer Duguay said. “It would later be discovered that Mr. Berry caused damage to the plastic holding the metal frame in place.”

Officer Duguay then spoke with Hood. Officer Duguay said he was aware that Hood and Berry have a child together based on “multiple law enforcement encounters” with the two of them in the past.

Officer Duguay noted that while he was speaking with Hood, he observed two groups of people in the parking lot just standing there, watching the incident unfold.

Officer Duguay then asked Hood what happened.

“Ms. Hood stated she and Mr. Berry had both been drinking today after everyone in the parking lot attended a funeral earlier in the day,” Officer Duguay said. “Ms. Hood stated she and Mr. Berry got into a verbal argument that led to Ms. Hood throwing her backpack in the direction of Mr. Berry.”

Hood said Berry retaliated by taking a glass beer bottle and throwing it at her. The bottle – she said – struck her ankle.

“Ms. Hood stated Mr. Berry then walked away from the area as he was now irate,” Officer Duguay said. “Ms. Hood stated she then contacted the Athol Police Department as Mr. Berry returned. Ms. Hood did not state how Mr. Berry received injuries to his nose and facial area.”

Officer Duguay then informed Hood that she would be receiving a summons for domestic assault, which he said she acknowledged.

Officer Duguay said that, after the scene settled down, he transported Berry to the Athol Police Station.

Officer Newell, Sergeant Mousseau, and Sergeant Jon Cole also responded to the Athol Police Station as well.

Upon arriving in the station’s parking lot, Officer Duguay said Officer Newell opened the rear door of his cruiser and instructed Berry to step out.

“Mr. Berry repeated numerous times that he was not under arrest and that he was not leaving the vehicle,” Officer Duguay said. “Due to Mr. Berry not complying with officer’s commands, Officer Duguay and Officer Newell grabbed onto Mr. Berry’s person and escorted him out of the cruiser onto his feet. Based on Mr. Berry’s uncooperative behavior thus far, Officer Newell and Officer Duguay escorted Mr. Berry directly into cell 3, bypassing the booking process.”

Officer Duguay said that after Berry was placed in the holding cell, Officer Duguay removed the handcuffs from Berry’s wrists.

“Once the cell 3 door was secure, Mr. Berry continued to be disruptive and violent,” Officer Duguay said. “Mr. Berry laid himself on the ground of the cell and began kicking his feet on the window of the cell 3 door. Mr. Berry was advised numerous times to cease his behavior, to which he stated he needed to be released and did not stop. Due to Mr. Berry’s uncooperative and assaultive behavior, Mr. Berry was not granted a phone call. Officer Newell read Mr. Berry his Miranda Rights, to which Mr. Berry stated he did not care.”

Berry’s bail was set at $5,000 cash and he was eligible for release at 12:00 a.m. on June 11, 2025, due to the mandatory six hour holding period, according to Officer Duguay.

While Officer Duguay was at the Athol Police Station entering booking information and writing the arrest report narrative, Officer Courtney Call—who was dispatching at the time—conducted a routine prisoner check on Berry in the holding cell.

Officer Call then informed Officer Duguay Berry was on the floor of the cell, gasping for air and possibly choking.

“Officer Duguay and Officer Call entered cell 3 and located Mr. Berry cell face down in the cell floor,” Officer Duguay said. “Officer Duguay located several pieces of toilet paper that were ripped up inside the cell as if Mr. Berry was trying to ingest them. It should be noted Mr. Berry has a history of suicidal ideations. Officer Duguay and Officer Call stood by while an ambulance was requested to the Athol Police Station for Mr. Berry.”

Officer Duguay said that while the ambulance arrived at the station, Sergeant Mousseau put ankle shackles on Berry and double locked them.

“Once Mr. Berry heard the sound of the ankle shackles being brought out, Mr. Berry was able to sit himself upright and speak with officers and Athol firefighters,” Officer Duguay said.

Officer Duguay said he then placed handcuffs on Berry in the front, successfully securing and double-locking them.

“Mr. Berry was escorted and placed on the stretcher and brought out to the ambulance. During this, Mr. Berry returned to cussing and being verbally aggressive toward officers,” Officer Duguay said.

Officer Duguay rode in the ambulance with Duguay to the hospital while Sergeant Mousseau followed behind the ambulance in a cruiser.

“Once at Athol Hospital, hospital staff attended to Mr. Berry’s medical needs,” Officer Duguay said. “Once Mr. Berry was discharged from the Athol Hospital, Officer Duguay and Sergeant Mousseau escorted Mr. Berry to a cruiser and transported him back to the Athol Police Station.”

Officer Duguay added, “Upon arriving at the Athol Police Station, the Franklin County House of Correction transport van was waiting at the station to transport Mr. Berry and an additional prisoner from the Athol Police Department. Mr. Berry was advised to exit the rear of the cruiser, to which he stated he was not going to do so until he was notified of his bail amount. Franklin County Sheriffs advised Mr. Berry of his bail amount, to which he then exited the cruiser walked toward the transport van without incident.”

After the ankle shackles and belly band handcuffs were secured on Berry, he was placed into the transport van.

David Berry was charged with the following:

1. Assault & Battery with Dangerous Weapon
2. Disorderly Conduct
3. Disturbing the Peace
4. Vandalize Property
5. Resist Arrest

Brooke Hood was charged with the following:

• Assault on Family/Household Member

Officer Duguay requested that a summons be issued to Hood by the Orange District Court for the charge listed above. Officer Duguay said that Hood currently uses the same address as Berry but is otherwise homeless.

Berry was arraigned in Orange District Court on June 13, 2025. Following his arraignment, his bail was reduced and he was released on $100 cash bail.

Berry attended a pretrial hearing on July 14, 2025, in Orange District Court, which was continued once to July 18, 2025, and then a second time to Aug. 18, 2025.

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

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