Haverhill man arrested for interfering with EMS call, spitting at officers outside Market Basket

HAVERHILL — On Friday, June 26, 2026, at approximately 8:53 p.m., Haverhill Police Officers Michael Connolly and Christian Mazzone responded to 2 Water Street following a report of multiple males loitering in the area.

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

“Upon arrival, officers encountered a male party who appeared to be passed out on the ground with two other male parties standing around him,” Officer Connolly said. “The male parties were identified as Maurice Crispin, Christopher [last name redacted], and Derek [last name redacted]. Officers notified all parties that their BWCs [body worn cameras] were activated.”

Officer Connolly said he continued to attempt to speak with the man, who was lying on the ground and appeared to be completely out of it.

“He was having trouble sitting up on his own, and there were multiple empty containers around,” Officer Connolly said. “Another male party, identified as Maurice Crispin, continued to stand in front of this male party and state that this male was his friend and that they had just come from the World Cup.”

According to police, Maurice D. Crispin, 32, is homeless in Haverhill, MA.

“As I was speaking with Maurice, he originally did not want to provide his name. After asking multiple times, he provided me with his Social Security number,” Officer Connolly said. “While speaking with Maurice, I noticed Christopher removing money and his ID from his pocket. Because Christopher couldn’t tell me his name, I grabbed his ID as he dropped it on the ground.”

Pridestar EMS was dispatched for Christopher so he could be transported to the hospital for suspected alcohol intoxication, Officer Connolly said.

“While awaiting Pridestar, Maurice continued trying to get Christopher to sit up. I asked Maurice multiple times to step back and let me speak with Christopher,” Officer Connolly said. “Maurice continued to intervene, trying to get Christopher to stand up. Officers continued to tell Maurice to stop, but he did not.”

Officer Connolly said Crispin continued to interfere despite repeated requests that he step back and allow officers to speak with Christopher.

“Due to Maurice’s behavior, as well as the presence of alcohol where Maurice and Christopher were hanging out, officers decided to place Maurice into handcuffs and detain him to get him away from Christopher, for his safety and others,” Officer Connolly said. Adding, “While attempting to place Maurice into handcuffs, he began to tense up and become increasingly aggressive. Officer Mazzone had control of Maurice’s right arm, and I grabbed hold of his left. Maurice continued to tense up after being told to put his hands behind his back multiple times.”

The officers then escorted Crispin to the wall of the building.

“Due to Maurice not complying with officers, Maurice was advised that he was being placed under arrest for disorderly conduct,” Officer Connolly said. “Officers forced his arms behind his back.

Officer Connolly said officers handcuffed Crispin, double locked the handcuffs, and checked them for tightness, while Crispin continued to scream at them.

“It should be noted that the area at 2 Water Street, where this interaction occurred, is directly in front of a Market Basket,” Officer Connolly said. “Multiple patrons of the store continued to walk by during this encounter. Due to Maurice’s tumultuous behavior, multiple patrons of the shopping plaza had watched the incident. Maurice caused a public annoyance and alarm with his behavior. Officer Mazzone then escorted Maurice away from the original scene where Christopher was still lying down.”

At around this time, Officer Grace Melgar and K9 Officer Dan McDonagh responded to the scene to assist.

Officers Mazzone and Melgar searched Crispin after moving him away from the scene.

Officer Connolly said he remained with Christopher and Pridestar EMS and notified Pridestar that Christopher needed to be evaluated at the hospital for apparent alcohol intoxication.

“While attempting to speak with Pridestar, Maurice began to scream at the officers and attempted to pull away,” Officer Connolly said. “While Maurice was screaming at Officer Mazzone, he was spitting while yelling, and Officer Mazzone had exposure when his saliva hit him in the face and mouth.”

Officer Connolly said that, due to this behavior, officers escorted Crispin to a cruiser and attempted to place him in the back seat.

“While being placed in the rear of the cruiser, Maurice continued to actively resist and attempt to prevent officers from placing him inside,” Officer Connolly said. “Officers were able to get Maurice to sit in the cruiser by forcibly pushing him, but he continued to tense up and hold his legs outside of the cruiser and against the door. I then continued to tell Maurice to stop and to sit in the cruiser, but he continued to attempt to exit the cruiser and scream in my face. While Maurice was screaming, he was spitting, and his saliva had hit me in the face and mouth. He also stated, ‘I will f*ck you up,’ as I attempted to get him into the cruiser.”

As Crispin continued to resist officers and refused to get into the cruiser, Officer McDonagh approached with K9 Marek.

“K9 Officer McDonagh then grabbed K9 Marek and attempted to gain compliance from Maurice and de-escalate his behavior,” Officer Connolly said. “After Maurice saw K9 Marek, he began to calm down slightly. I was then able to grab Maurice’s legs and place him into the rear of the cruiser.”

“Once I shut the door, the original reporting party, identified as Keegan [last name redacted], came and apologized for his behavior,” Officer Connolly said. “She also stated that both Christopher and Maurice were outside the Market Basket for multiple hours.”

Officer Connolly then transported Crispin to the Haverhill Police Department for booking.

“Maurice continued to slam his body and his head against the cage of the cruiser,” Officer Connolly said.

“Once we entered the sally port, Officer Mazzone, Officer [Tomanik] Falcon, Officer [Jason] Restituyo, Lieutenant [Braden] Sheehy, and I attempted to speak with Maurice and calm him down,” Officer Connolly said. “As officers opened up the rear of the cruiser to bring him into the holding area, Maurice continued to scream in the officer’s face, and Maurice was spitting, and it hit my face and mouth.”

Officer Connolly said that due to Crispin’s “aggressive behavior” he was escorted directly into a holding cell at the police station.

“He was searched and the handcuffs removed. The booking process could not be completed due to his behavior,” Officer Connolly said. “It should be noted that Officer Mazzone and I went to the hospital due to the exposure. I was notified that Maurice had made suicidal statements and was transported to MHH [Merrimack Health Haverhill Hospital] by Pridestar with Officer [Craig] Costoplus. While at the hospital, Maurice intentionally spat in Officer Costoplus’ face.”  

Crispin was arraigned in Haverhill District Court on June 29, 2026. Following his arraignment, he was held without bail with the possibility of bail revocation after Dr. Robert Joss at Bridgewater State Hospital examined him and recommended further evaluation for competency and criminal responsibility.

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

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