ATHOL — On Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025, at approximately 6:20 p.m., Athol Police Officers Alex Griffin and Cody Vitols were dispatched to the Hobby Lobby on Reservoir Drive after the store manager called the Athol Police Department to report that a man inside the store exposed his penis to a female customer.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Alex Griffin and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
Officer Griffin said the store manager told Athol police dispatch that the male party, who was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, was still inside the store.
When Officers Griffin and Vitols arrived at the Hobby Lobby at 223 Reservoir Drive, they met with the woman, who showed them a video of a man—later identified as Thomas Dwyer—wearing a gray T-shirt, dark camouflage shorts, and a hat, standing in the aisle across from her.
According to police, Thomas A. Dwyer, 37, is a resident of Main Street in West Townsend, MA.
The woman said she was filming products in the store because she and a friend were purchasing supplies for an injured frog they were caring for, and she was sending the videos to her friend to confirm what to buy.
The woman said she looked over and saw Dwyer, who was just standing there in the aisle with his penis out of his shorts.
“[She] stated this is when she took a video of Thomas to have the proof of what took place and stated she then immediately went to the front to report this and have the police called,” Officer Griffin said. “There were multiple families that were inside the store shopping with their young children at this time as well.”
Officer Griffin and Officer Vitols watched the video and observed Dwyer with his penis exposed, outside of his shorts and boxers. The officers captured the video with their body worn cameras.
The officers then located Dwyer in the bathroom at the rear of the store.
Officer Griffin opened the door to the men’s bathroom, and turned the light on, because it was off.
“Once I turned on the light, a pair of feet, wearing sandals, was seen in the back stall in the bathroom,” Officer Griffin said.
Officer Griffin asked if anyone was in the bathroom and no one answered.
“When I asked this, the feet went up to hide like no one was in the stall,” Officer Griffin said, adding that he asked once again if anyone was in the bathroom and no one responded.
Officer Griffin then announced himself as Athol police and still, no one answered.
Officer Griffin left the bathroom, asked Officer Vitols whether the man in the video was wearing sandals, and requested that Officer Vitols join him in the bathroom.
“Thomas came out from the bathroom and acted like he was out of breath and seemed to be sweating as well,” Officer Griffin said.
Officer Griffin asked what he was doing and Thomas stated he had been taking a “sh*t” and really needed to go.
“Thomas stated he had also been having a panic attack,” Officer Griffin said.
Officer Griffin then asked Dwyer if he normally went into public bathrooms with the lights off to take a sh*t.
“Thomas was only saying he was sorry and asked what was going on,” Officer Griffin said.
The officers then told Dwyer to turn around and put his hands behind his back.
“Thomas started backing up into the entryway of the bathrooms stating ‘no’ and saying what did he do and he needed to be told what was going on,” Officer Griffin said. As this was happening, the officers were still asking Dwyer to turn around and place his hands behind his back.
After asking several more times, the officers grabbed onto Dwyer’s arms to place them behind his back.
“As Officer Griffin and Officer Vitols grabbed onto Thomas’ arms, he started to actively resist officers, pulling his arms away from them and tensing up to keep his arms from being put behind his back,” Officer Griffin said. “Officers told Thomas to stop resisting multiple times and after several times, officers told Thomas that he was going to be tased if he did not stop resisting. Officers fought with Thomas for several minutes as one handcuff was placed onto Thomas’ right wrist, but officers were unable to get the other cuff onto Thomas’ left wrist.”
Officer Griffin said he and Officer Vitols then pressed Dwyer against the opposite wall while trying to gain control of him. Despite their efforts, Dwyer continued to struggle and resisted attempts to bring him to the ground, preventing officers from controlling his legs.
The fight then spilled into the aisles across from the bathroom’s entrance, where all three parties smashed into several display racks.
The officers attempted again to bring Dwyer to the ground, but he pushed off the wall with his feet. Officer Griffin said he was pushed to the ground after this, and when he got up, he took out his taser, turned it on, and told Dwyer to stop or he was going to be tased.
Officer Griffin said Dwyer continued resisting, so he deployed his taser, pressing it against Dwyer’s left backside and delivering a drive stun for about five seconds.
Officer Griffin said that at the time of the drive stun, he was holding Dwyer’s left arm while Officer Vitols held his right. After Dwyer was brought to the ground, the officers were able to gain control and handcuff him.
Officer Griffin said he picked up a necklace that had come off Dwyer’s neck and placed it in his hat, which a store employee had set nearby with his sunglasses—all of which had fallen off during the struggle.
Officer Griffin said he reached for the wallet in Dwyer’s back pocket, but Dwyer immediately tried to stop him, yelling at the officer not to take it.
At this time, Sergeant Randal Stange and two Massachusetts State Police Trooper Patrick Kerrigan and Trooper Joseph Caissie arrive on scene to assist.
Officer Vitols and Trooper Caissie brought Dwyer to his feet, took him outside, and placed him inside Officer Griffin’s cruiser.
“I transported Thomas back to the Athol Police Department, where he was booked without issue, along with the assistance of the troopers, Officer Vitols, and Sergeant Stange, due to what had just taken place,” Officer Griffin said.
Officer Griffin said Officer Vitols sustained several cuts to both of his arms during the struggle, and he himself injured his left shoulder, which was examined at Athol Hospital after Dwyer was booked.
Thomas Dwyer was charged with the following:
- Open and Gross Lewdness
- Resisting Arrest
- Assault & Battery on Police Officer
Dwyer’s bail was set at $2,000.
During his arraignment in Orange District Court on Sept. 5, 2025, the Commonwealth revoked Dwyer’s bail for violating pretrial conditions, and the judge ordered that he be held at the Middlesex House of Correction for 90 days. Dwyer’s attorney later filed a motion for funds for a social worker, which the judge approved for $1,500.
Dwyer attended a pretrial conference on Oct. 3, 2025, which was continued to Nov. 14, 2025.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in September, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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