LEOMINSTER — On Tuesday, June 23, 2026, Officer Christian Edge of the Leominster Police Department was dispatched to South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC), a homeless shelter located at 482 North Main Street, following a report of a man swearing at guests and otherwise causing a disturbance.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Statement of Facts of Officer Christian Edge and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
Officer Edge said that his street supervisor, Sergeant John Bouchard, responded to the scene to assist.
When Officer Edge arrived on scene, he was greeted by the manager, Crystal.
“[Crystal] provided a picture (and also sent it to my work email) of what appeared to be a white male in shorts, wearing a hat of some sort. His left hand appeared to be behind his back,” Officer Edge said. “[Crystal] further stated that the male stated his name was ‘Eric’ and that he was seeking assistance with obtaining shelter at SMOC.”
The individual the manager called police about was later identified as Eric I. Sizelove, 38, of Fitchburg, MA.
After she advised him that no regular beds were available, the male remained on the property (on the back side by the rear entrance). Upon telling Eric to leave, [Crystal] stated Eric did not listen to her request and then he told the staff that he had lost his wallet and was looking for it on the property.”
Officer Edge said that after Crystal asked Sizelove to leave the property again, Sizelove closed the distance between them.
Crystal told Officer Edge that she feared for her safety because Sizelove came face-to-face with her and said he “would f*ck” her “up you stupid b*tch.”
“[Crystal] was unsure what items he was holding in his hand, but was able to get back inside and shut the rear (glass) door,” Officer Edge said, adding that Crystal said Sizelove then left the property on foot in an “unknown direction.”
Officer Edge said that Crystal’s security guard, Edwin, was also there in his security uniform.
“Edwin believes that when he made his presence known, the male [i.e., Sizelove] mistook him for a police officer,” Officer Edge said. “The male complied with Edwin’s orders and left prior to my arrival.”
Officer Edge said that right before he left the SMOC shelter, dispatch informed him that they received a 911 call from a clerk at the Unified Petroleum gas station at 592 North Main Street reporting that a man who matched Sizelove’s description had threatened to kill him.
Officer Edge and Sergeant Bouchard then went to Unified Petroleum and spoke with the clerk.
The clerk told the officers that the man had walked away from the rear of Unified Petroleum toward Leominster Gardens, an apartment complex at 560 North Main Street.
“[The clerk] stated the male threw a bottle of an unknown liquid in his direction. The bottle missed him, but was close to striking him,” Officer Edge said. Adding, “Upon updating my location to dispatch and the other units responding, I noticed a white male who resembled the photo provided to me by [Crystal], walking in the parking lot between Jimmy John’s restaurant and Leominster Gardens. I was mobile in my cruiser during this time. The male was about 20 feet from me, holding something in his hand that appeared metallic in nature. The male continued walking away from my cruiser towards the roadway on North Main Street.”
Officer Edge said that, upon taking another look at the item, one side appeared to resemble the head of a hammer, while the other appeared to have a metallic-edged blade.
“Once I turned around the cruiser, I noticed the male manipulating the item to the point of where the edged blade was no longer visible and then place it into his right pocket,” Officer Edge said. “While remaining my distance from the party, I called out to the male, inquiring if he was ‘Eric’. The male confirmed he was Eric, later identified as Eric Sizelove.”
Officer Edge said that as he exited his cruiser and ordered Sizelove to stand near the grass line, Sizelove continued walking toward him with his right hand in his pocket.
“At first, he did not listen to my order and then removed his right hand from his pocket,” Officer Edge said. “It was at that point where I observed the metallic hammer in his hand again. Upon looking at the opposite end of the hammer portion, I was able to determine that the claw-style hammer was attached to a multi-tool which was outfitted with a single-edged blade, among other sharp metallic tools. The grip portion length was about the same size as his hand. I ultimately backed up and created more distance once Eric verbally stated it was a ‘knife,’ until Sergeant Bouchard arrived at my location.”
Officer Edge said he then ordered Sizelove to place the multitool on the ground and step away from it.
“Eric initially complied. I then advised Eric that he was going to be placed under arrest for assault with a dangerous weapon (hammer/utility tool),” Officer Edge said. “Eric then continued to close the distance between himself and I. I then ordered him not to come close to me. He did not listen to my orders and then proceeded to take a few steps forward.”
Officer Edge said he then ordered Sizelove to the ground so he could place him under arrest.
“Instead of complying with my orders, Eric turned away from the sound of my voice and attempted to go towards the hammer/knife by the grass line,” Officer Edge said. “Due to the circumstances, I ran to Eric to gain physical control of him and to prevent him from escaping custody or re-arming himself with the weapon.”
Officer Edge said that upon approaching Sizelove, he grabbed Sizelove’s right arm and hand, performed an armbar takedown and brought him to the ground face down.
“With his right wrist behind the small of his back, I grabbed his left wrist and placed it with his right,” Officer Edge said. “Sergeant Bouchard then assisted by maintaining control of his right side while I placed handcuffs (double locked) on both wrists and checked them for tightness.”
Officer Edge said he then turned Sizelove onto his left side and conducted a pat frisk for weapons, but none were found.
“I did the same to his right side (none found). After that, I brought him onto his buttocks and stood him upright without issue. I placed him into the rear compartment of my cruiser and transported him to the station for booking,” Officer Edge said, adding that the multitool was seized as it had been used in a crime against him.
Eric Sizelove, 38, of Fitchburg, was charged with the following:
- Assault with Dangerous Weapon: “Mr. Sizelove, after ordering him to a specific area away from me, continued advancing towards me with his hand in his right pocket,” Officer Edge explained. “Instead of keeping the hammer in his right pocket, he retrieves it and brandishes it in front of me in proximity and then advises the hammer he was holding was also in fact a knife.”
- Threat to Commit a Crime: “Mr. Sizelove closed the distance between himself and [Crystal] on the property of the SMOC shelter and verbally told [Crystal] that he would, ‘F*ck you up, you stupid b*tch,’” Officer Edge said.
- Disorderly Conduct, Subsequent Offense: “Mr. Sizelove created a risk of public inconvenience at the SMOC shelter by creating a physically offensive condition that served no legitimate purpose,” Officer Edge said. “Though the shelter is on private property, the inconvenience affected visitors of the shelter.”
- Trespass after Notice: “Mr. Sizelove remained on SMOC shelter property after [Crystal] (SMOC manager) verbally ejected him from the premises,” Officer Edge said. “Mr. Sizelove remained on the property until he was told again by security [Edwin].”
- Assault with Dangerous Weapon: “Mr. Sizelove threw a bottle full of liquid at…Unified Petroleum clerk, almost striking him,” Officer Edge said.
- Threat To Commit a Crime: “Mr. Sizelove made a second approach at [the clerk] at Unified Petroleum regarding his ‘stolen wallet,’” Officer Edge said. “Upon accusing [the clerk] of stealing his wallet, Eric was ordered to leave the property. Mr. Sizelove left the gas station and came back to threaten [the clerk] that he would ‘kill him.’”
Sizelove was arraigned in Leominster District Court on June 24, 2026. Following his arraignment, he was released on personal recognizance under the condition that he stay away from the SMOC shelter and Unified Petroleum gas station.
Sizelove’s next court date is a pretrial conference hearing scheduled for Aug. 8, 2026.
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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