CHARLTON — On Monday, August 4, 2025, Officer David Fortier and Sergeant Jason White of the Charlton Police Department were dispatched to the beach at Buffumville Lake following a report of a man acting strangely around some children at the beach.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer David Fortier and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“It was reported that he was making rude gestures with his hands towards children and swearing,” Officer Fortier said. “Upon our arrival Sergeant White and I spoke with the reporting party, [name redacted]. She advised that the male subject was acting strangely around a group of teenagers initially as he was challenging them to do push-ups and when they walked away, he yelled at them and made a gesture with his hand as if he were masturbating over his clothes toward them.”
The reporting party added that although the man continued to act strangely and seemed to be interested in children, he never made any physical contact with them.
The officers then spoke with a park ranger who said he had been observing the man and noted that he “seemed off.”
“We asked him if he wanted the male subject removed from the beach area and he advised that he could not make that decision, but believed it was best as he was making families very uncomfortable,” Officer Fortier said.
The park ranger informed police that he believed the man had arrived in a truck towing a trailer, which was parked in the upper lot.
“Sergeant White and I then contacted the male subject, who was wearing just shorts,” Officer Fortier said. “We advised him that he needed to leave the beach area and attempted to speak with him further, but he did not speak English and when we asked his name, he started to walk off ignoring our conversation.”
Officer Fortier said he began to follow the man to his vehicle, but the man changed course and started walking toward the road.
“Sergeant White advised him that he needed to remove his truck from the parking lot, so he started to walk to the location where it was parked,” Officer Fortier said. “Once at his truck, we again asked him for his name, and he refused to give it to us and then made a call to a female. He then told me that she would be here in 10-20 minutes. We continued to attempt to identify him when he finally identified himself as Orlando Rodriguez, but refused to give his date of birth. Note: Rodriquez has a suspended license.”
According to police, Orlando Rodriguez, 54, is a resident of Paige Hill Road in Southbridge, MA.
“While waiting Rodriguez became agitated and began to raise his voice telling me to ‘Fuck off,’” Officer Fortier said. “After trying to find out how long it would be before someone came to get him and the truck, he became more upset and began to yell, he stood up and punched his truck several times before I warned him that he needed to calm down or he was going to be arrested.”
Officer Fortier said the man sat on his trailer, then got up and struck it several times while he repeatedly told him to calm down or risk being arrested for causing a scene. Officer Fortier noted that several other park patrons in the area, along with two park rangers, began to watch the situation with concern.
“Rodriguez then began to walk behind the trailer and yelled threats toward the park rangers,” Officer Fortier said. “He balled his fist and struck his other open hand several times. At this point, I advised Rodriguez he was being placed under arrest for disorderly conduct. Sergeant White and I placed him in handcuffs (DL) [double locked] and walked him to the rear of Sergeant White’s cruiser. I placed him inside and put his seat belt on. After closing the door, Rodriguez began to kick the divider in the cruiser.”
Rodriguez was then transported to the Charlton Police Department.
“During transport he kicked and spit on the divider. Sergeant White requested a Spanish speaking officer to assist with booking,” Officer Fortier said. “Due to his actions, we left the vehicle and trailer in the parking lot to await his family to pick it up.”
Officer Fortier said he informed a park ranger of the situation and advised him to call if he needed any further assistance.
“Once we arrived at the station, Rodriguez began to yell and refused to sit on the bench,” Officer Fortier said. “I removed the cuff from his left wrist and then secured his right arm to the bench. Rodriguez then began to yell and flail about. While in a fit of rage he struck the thermostat above the booking bench with an open hand breaking the control panel. At this point, I took control of his left arm and put him in a wrist lock. He attempted several times to stand and continued to yell. He then began to spit at officers.”
At this point, Officer Fortier said Rodriguez was secured in a restraint chair inside a holding cell while waiting for the arrival of a Spanish-speaking officer.
“Once Trooper Nunez arrived, he was able to speak with Rodriguez and he then cooperated for the rest of booking and he was removed from the chair,” Officer Fortier said. Rodriguez then made a phone call and was secured into a holding cell.
Rodriguez’s bail was set at personal recognizance (meaning there was none).
“Shortly after booking Kelsey [last name redacted] came to the station to advise that she had observed Rodriguez’s behavior at the beach and was asked by the park rangers to come and make a statement,” Officer Fortier said. “In her statement she advised of his strange behavior and that he was being overly friendly with complete strangers.”
Orlando Rodriguez was charged with:
- Disorderly Conduct
- Vandalize Property (thermostat)
Rodriguez was arraigned in Dudley District Court on August 5, 2025. Following his arraignment, he was released on personal recognizance under the condition that he stay away from the Buffumville Lake Park beach in Charlton.
At a September 24 pretrial hearing, Rodriguez pleaded guilty to both charges, resolving the case.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in August, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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