AYER — On Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at approximately 5:11 p.m., Sergeant David Lansing of the Ayer Police Department responded to a request for a welfare check at the Century Carpet warehouse at 1 Bligh Street.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Sergeant David Lansing and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“The report was to check the well-being of Francis Colard, who lives under the building,” Sgt. Lansing said.
According to police, Francis L. Colard, 68, is a resident of Bligh Street in Ayer, MA. Police records also listed Colard as a sex offender with an effective date of July 7, 2022.
“Upon arrival, I did not locate Francis and requested Officer [Nicholas] Trinque to my location. Soon after, I located him under the covers on top of a mattress under the northernmost part of the building,” Sgt. Lansing said. “During my initial conversation with Francis, he said he was cold, did not know who the president of the United States was, and said he had been drinking today. Francis said he would not come out from the underside of the building.”
Due to Colard’s mental state and his claim that he was cold, Sergeant Lansing requested that Ayer Fire Department (AFD) paramedics respond to the scene to conduct an evaluation. AFD arrived shortly thereafter.
Sergeant Lansing helped Colard put on his boots and observed one or two small knives in the immediate area.
“However, during my time near him, I did not see him grab any item other than his wallet and his cell phone. I escorted Francis out from under the building to AFD staff,” Sgt. Lansing said.
Sergeant Lansing said that by the time Colard was able to crawl approximately 15 feet to the edge of the building and stand up, he was complaining of physical pain and partially hunched over.
“Officer Trinque left the area and returned soon after with the portable breath test (PBT) machine,” Sergeant Lansing said.
Sergeant Lansing spoke with Ayer Fire Department paramedics, who advised that Colard did not require medical attention.
“I explained to Francis I could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath, saw he had bloodshot and glossy eyes, and had slurred speech,” Sgt. Lansing said. “I advised if he took the PBT and was under a certain BAC, he would return to where he was. Francis blew into the PBT and his BAC was 0.199.”
Sergeant Lansing said that following the breath test, Colard was placed in protective custody and transported to the Ayer Police Department.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the arrest in this story took place in November, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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