Charlton man accused of attacking police with relish jar and spit during Section 12 incident

CHARLTON — On Tuesday, September 2, 2025, at 1:37 p.m., Officer Ryan Chase of the Charlton Police Department responded to the lobby of the police station where he spoke with Robert Anderson who said that his son, Mark Anderson, should be placed under a Section 12 order, a state law which allows for involuntary hospitalization if a person poses a risk to themselves or others.

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

“Robert stated that Mark had threatened to ‘blow his head off,’ prior to coming down to the station,” Officer Chase said.

According to police, Mark E. Anderson, 39, is a resident of Charlton, MA.

Officer Chase said he was familiar with Mark Anderson through past dealings and had been made aware of recent erratic behavior reported by other department officers within the past week.

“Officers of the Charlton Police Department had recently reported being berated by Mark on the side of the road. Mark had stepped out in front of cruisers in traffic, spitting at cruisers as they pass him and yelling expletives towards officers,” Officer Chase said. “Sergeant [Steven] Bellerose also reported in a past incident that Mark Anderson stated that he was going to ‘Tarentino’ him (Sgt. Bellerose) the next time he saw him (‘Tarentino’ is a reference to late Auburn Officer Ronald Tarentino who was murdered on a traffic stop in 2016).”

Officer Chase said that on Sunday, August 31, 2025, Worcester police informed the Charlton Police Department about an encounter they had with Anderson at a methadone clinic, during which Anderson allegedly stated that the detail officer “can get shot.” He was subsequently trespassed from the clinic.

“I, along with Sgt. [Brian] Cardrant and Sgt. [Steven] Madelle made our way to [# redacted] Freeman Road with the intention of speaking with Anderson and placing him under a Section 12 for comments made to his father,” Officer Chase said. “Upon turning onto Freeman Roadd, I observed Anderson on the side of the road in front of 16 Freeman with two other men. Upon seeing my cruiser, Anderson quickly crouched down behind some bushes and then reappeared and began to run at my cruiser and threw an object which struck my cruiser’s windshield, bounced off, and then struck Sgt. Cardrant’s cruiser, which was directly behind me at this point. I later learned that the object thrown at the cruiser was a mason jar of relish. Sgt. Cardrant’s cruiser sustained a cracked headlight and damage to the trim around the headlight as a result of the relish being thrown.”

Officer Chase said he then exited his cruiser, along with Sgt. Cardrant and Sgt. Madelle, who exited the cruiser they were in together directly behind his vehicle.

“Anderson then ran up to us and threw a lit cigarette at Sgt. Cardrant striking him in the front of his body while Sgt. Cardrant was ordering Anderson to place his hands behind his back,” Officer Chase said. “Anderson did not comply and began to spit towards officers.”

At this point, Officer Chase said he unholstered his taser and told Anderson that he was going to be “tased.”

“Anderson then spit at officers and did spit on Sgt. Cardrant striking him on the head and shirt. I then discharged one probe at Anderson, striking him in the leg,” Officer Chase said. “The next probe from the [taser] struck Anderson in the upper body and did not make a connection. The third probe also struck Anderson in the upper body and did not make a connection. Realizing that Anderson had on a bulky sweatshirt making it difficult for the probes to connect, I delivered a fourth probe to his other leg and immediately obtained neuromuscular incapacitation. Officers then ran to Anderson and placed him in handcuffs.”

Officer Chase said that once he was in handcuffs, Anderson said he was going to kill himself and then began rambling about numerous things including Tupac and Lil Wayne.

“Anderson continued spitting towards officers, saying he was going to ‘Tarentino’ them, and was then frisked for weapons and placed in the back of my cruiser for transport to UMass Worcester for treatment,” Officer Chase said.

Officer Chase said that during the transport to UMass Worcester, Anderson began intentionally spitting throughout the interior of his cruiser’s prisoner compartment.

“This resulted in the cruiser needing to be professionally decontaminated of Anderson’s bodily fluids,” Officer Chase said. “Once at UMass, Anderson was left in the care of emergency room staff. Sgt. Madelle advised Mr. Anderson of his domestic rights following the report to police, which he acknowledged, and declined to pursue.”

Officer Chase requested a court summons for Mark Anderson for the following charges (Officer Chase’s reasoning for the charges are provided in parentheses):

• Assault & Battery on a Police Officer (throwing a lit cigarette at, and spitting on, Sgt. Cardrant)
• Vandalize Property (purposefully spitting in the back of cruiser)
• Wanton Destruction of Property +$1200 (damage to cruiser headlight and trim from the Mason jar he threw at the police cruisers)
• Resisting Arrest (failing to comply with police orders to put his hands behind his back, and continuing his aggression)

Anderson’s arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 6, 2025 in Dudley District Court.

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

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