LEOMINSTER — On Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, at approximately 1:39 a.m., Leominster Police Officer William Taylor was dispatched to Leominster Taxi at 83 Mechanic Street following a report from the owner who said that an intoxicated employee was refusing to leave.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer William Taylor and Sergeant Ryan Morrell and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
Officer Taylor said that when he arrived on scene, it was obvious that the employee, Berenice Benitez, was, in fact, intoxicated.
“Upon interacting with Berenice, I quickly formed the opinion that she was heavily intoxicated: her eyes were glassy and sleepy-looking; she lost her balance and stumbled, just standing in one spot; and when I asked her where she would be going (knowing that the temperature was forecasted to drop down to 11 degrees that night) and what her address was, she was unable to even tell me where she lived, saying just ‘[# redacted] Road’ in Gardner, but not even being able to say which road.”
According to police, Berenice Benitez, 39, is a resident of Fitchburg, MA.
“I wished to help Berenice either get into the care of a sober adult at home or medical attention, fearing that she would likely suffer cold weather-injury or may stumble and fall onto the pavement or into traffic if left on her own, and expecting to have to take her into protective custody if those two options were unavailable,” Officer Taylor said. “Berenice said she spoke Spanish, so I requested over the radio for Officer [Cameron] Garcia, who is fluent, to come help and translate.”
Officer Taylor said that while waiting for Officer Garcia to arrive, he told Benitez that she needed to leave the building because the business wanted her out.
“At that point, Berenice became disorderly, failing to comply with my request for her to leave and instead yelled at Tammy and other employees in Spanish (which I didn’t understand) while pointing her finger at them,” Officer Taylor said. “I perceived this agitated and tumultuous (and possibly even threatening) behavior as a clear breach of the peace in my presence, disrupting the flow of business by causing annoyance, and likely alarm as well, with actions which served no legitimate purpose, in contradiction of lawful police commands.”
Officer Taylor said he attempted to de-escalate the situation by instructing Benitez to lower her voice and warning her that she would be arrested for trespassing if she did not step outside.
“[The business owner] wished to issue Berenice an indefinite trespass notice, which I relayed and explained,” Officer Taylor said. “Berenice was slow to comply, but ultimately did step out onto the sidewalk before I had to arrest her for trespassing; however, she continued to stomp her feet and yell. My concern at that point was that Berenice’s conduct was disturbing the quiet peace of the surrounding (apartments on either side of the business) in the thickly settled area, likely waking their occupants in the middle of the night. To suppress the disturbance Berenice was causing and restore peace and order, I felt left with no other choice than to place her under arrest for Disorderly Conduct and Protective Custody.”
Officer Taylor handcuffed Benitez and pat-frisked her outer clothing. It was around this time that Officer Garcia arrived on scene.
“Berenice dropped dead-weight to the ground crying and I assisted her back up to her feet, under her arms, and escorted her into the rear of Officer Garcia’s cruiser for Officer Garcia to transport Berenice to the station for booking by the OIC [Officer in Charge], Sergeant [Ryan] Morrell,” Officer Taylor said. Adding, “[The business owner] subsequently elaborated on the incident which led up to Berenice refusing to leave: [The business owner] had caught Berenice passed out behind the wheel of her taxi, with the transmission in drive and her foot on the brake, on Summer Street in Lunenburg and had to send two employees up to bring Berenice and her taxi back.”
Sergeant Morrell, the officer in charge overseeing Benitez’s booking process, said that when Benitez arrived for booking following her arrest at 1:56 a.m. on Dec. 15, 2025, she “presented signs of alcohol intoxication.”
“Ms. Benitez was unsteady on her feet and kept trying to sit on the ground,” Sgt. Morrell said. “Ms. Benitez also had a strong odor of alcohol and bloodshot and glassy eyes. Due to a language barrier, Officer Garcia had to assist with translation.”
Sergeant Morrell said Benitez was advised of her charges and asked to cooperate with the booking process.
“During the portion where pictures were to be taken, she refused and kept holding her hand in front of her face,” Sgt. Morrell said. “Eventually a photo was able to be taken. Ms. Benitez was asked if she wished to make a phone call to attempt to call a responsible person, but refused and did not want to answer any further questions, wishing to go to the cell. The bail clerk was called and advised of her disorderly charge as well as protective custody. The detox facility (Adcare) was called and I provided information pertaining to Ms. Benitez.”
Berenice Benitez, 39, of Fitchburg was arrested and charged with the following:
- Disorderly Conduct
She was arraigned in Leominster District Court on Dec. 15, 2025. Following her arraignment, Benitez was released on personal recognizance.
Benitez did not appear for her next court date, a pretrial hearing scheduled for Dec. 30, 2025, and a default warrant was issued for her arrest.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the arrest in this story took place in December, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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