LEOMINSTER — On Monday, July 6, 2026, Officer Nicholas Rice of the Leominster Police Department was sitting in the parking lot of the Paper Store’s shipping and receiving center at 46 Industrial Road when he observed a silver sedan with a missing hubcap heading outbound on Industrial Road that was driving extremely close to the rear bumper of a small bus.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Nicholas Rice and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“I estimate the vehicle was approximately 12 to 24 inches away from the rear bumper of the bus,” Officer Rice said. “The vehicle then passed over the double yellow line on the left-hand side of the road and quickly entered the lower parking lot of the Paper Store.”
Officer Rice said that approximately three to five minutes later, the same vehicle exited the parking lot traveling inbound on Industrial Road and crossed over the double yellow line into oncoming traffic while passing a gold-colored Jeep. The vehicle then accelerated towards Tolman Avenue and took a left turn.
“I then left the parking lot and began to follow the vehicle. It should be noted that I was driving normally and did not activate my emergency lights or attempt to initiate a motor vehicle stop,” Officer Rice said. “I got behind the vehicle on Tolman Avenue and I observed the operator through his driver’s side mirror.”
Officer Rice said the driver was a male with black hair, who was wearing a black top.
“The operator, later to be identified as Joshua Cruz looked at me in his driver’s side mirror and screamed the word ‘F*CK!’ so loud I could hear it from my cruiser,” Officer Rice said.
According to police, Joshua E. Cruz, 19, is a resident of Fitchburg, MA.
“Joshua proceeded to take a left turn onto Main Street,” Officer Rice said.
Officer Rice said that although Cruz was several cars ahead of him in traffic after turning left onto Main Street, he was still able to observe Cruz’s vehicle.
“Joshua then pulled into the parking lot of Cumberland Farms (1289 Main Street),” Officer Rice said. “I entered the parking lot. Joshua had gotten out of his vehicle at one of the gas pumps. I asked him why he was driving erratically and he told me to shut the f*ck up and hop off his d*ck.”
Officer Rice said that Cruz was yelling loudly enough that other people began to observe the interaction.
“I pulled my cruiser around behind Joshua’s vehicle and got out of my cruiser. One of the people who heard Joshua yelling rolled down their window and either said something to Joshua or began to film,” Officer Rice said. “Joshua became even more enraged and directed his focus at this other person. I could hear Joshua screaming, ‘Back the f*ck up. Back the f*ck up. I’ll smack the sh*t out of you, [N-word].’”
Officer Rice said that while Cruz was yelling, he was standing approximately 1 to 2 feet away from the other vehicle’s window.
“I then approached Joshua and he yelled at me to ‘back the fuck up,’” Officer Cruz said. “I told him he was under arrest for disorderly conduct. Joshua proceeded to call me a ‘retard’ several times and state he was protected by free speech. He also demanded a supervisor. I had called for another unit that was on the way.”
Officer Rice said Cruz continued yelling in the parking lot, causing a disturbance for other customers.
“While speaking to Joshua I intentionally kept my voice in a calm tone in hopes that Joshua might deescalate,” Officer Rice said. “Joshua did not deescalate. Joshua then began to walk to his car and was screaming at the person who he just threatened.”
Officer Rice said he placed his hand on Cruz’s arm and he pulled away.
“I was still by myself at this point so I drew my taser,” Officer Rice said. “This was an attempt at a show of force to deescalate Joshua. Joshua still did not de-escalate. Joshua took a step closer to me so I pointed the taser at him.”
Cruz began walking away toward the store, and Officer Rice followed him. Officer Rice said he had told Cruz countless times that he was under arrest, but Cruz continued to refuse to cooperate or de-escalate.
“Joshua then walked into the store and screamed in front of approximately 12 to 18 other customers and employees,” Officer Rice said, adding that Cruz eventually exited the store and walked back toward his vehicle.
“I asked him to please stop,” Officer Rice said. “He continued to yell and tell me to back up. He stated he was having a bad day already so I asked if he wanted to talk about it. Joshua did not want to talk about it. Officer [Braden] Carlson arrived and I told him that Joshua was under arrest for disorderly conduct. We both grabbed Joshua and he tensed his arms and pulled them into his body. I got ahold of his left arm and performed an armbar takedown. Joshua landed on the ground.”
Officer Rice said that while Cruz got into a pushup position in an attempt to get up from the ground.
“To gain and maintain immediate and conclusive control of Joshua, I pushed him back towards the ground using my body weight,” Officer Rice said. “Joshua landed on the ground and was still refusing to place his hands behind his back. I pulled out my taser and delivered a drive stun to his lower back. Joshua complied, and he was placed in handcuffs by Officer Carlson. It should be noted that my body camera fell off when we first grabbed Joshua.”
Officer Rice said that, at around this time, Sergeant Ryan Morrell and other police units arrived on scene to assist.
“I explained what happened to Sergeant Morrell,” Officer Rice said. “An ambulance was called for Joshua and he was transported to Leominster Hospital. Sergeant Morrell documented the scene.”
Officer Rice said he and Officer Carlson sustained minor injuries to their knees and elbows, while Cruz sustained minor injuries to his knees, back, and head during the altercation.
“I went inside and asked an employee if they would write a voluntary statement about what [transpired and] they wrote a statement,” Officer Rice said. Later adding, “The call lasted about five minutes. De-escalation was attempted; however, Joshua was unwilling to de-escalate. At one point, he was yelling so loudly and was so upset, that he was frothing at the mouth.”
Joshua Cruz, 19, of Fitchburg, was arrested and charged with the following:
- Disorderly Conduct
- Disturbing the Peace
- Resisting Arrest
- “Joshua refused lawful orders and resisted arrest by pulling away from officers and tensing up,” Officer Rice explained. “This incident occurred in a parking lot on the pavement. Officers sustained minor injuries as a result.”
Cruz was arraigned in Leominster District Court on July 7, 2026. Following his arraignment, he was released on personal recognizance. Cruz’s next court date is a pretrial conference hearing scheduled for Aug. 7, 2026.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place at the beginning of this month, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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