SHREWSBURY — On Friday, June 19, 2026, at approximately 9:40 p.m., Shrewsbury Police Officer Timothy Charland was patrolling Lake Quinsigamond aboard Marine Unit 1 when he observed a boat with a New Hampshire registration being operated in what he described as a negligent manner.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Timothy Charland and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
Officer Charland said the boat’s operator, later identified as Jayson Smith, 38, of Shrewsbury, was exceeding the lake’s posted speed limit of 20 mph after dark.
“It was estimated to be north of 30 mph based on the vessel’s plane,” Officer Charland said. “The vessel’s nose was pointed towards the sky and violently bouncing up and down as it was weaving from once side of the lake back to the other with numerous other boats in the area.”
Officer Charland said the vessel then came head-on toward his police boat, requiring him to take evasive action to avoid a collision. He activated his emergency lights and siren to stop the boat.
“The vessel was stopped,” Officer Charland said. “Mr. Smith was extremely lethargic, had slurred speech, and bloodshot, glassy eyes.”
Officer Charland said that when Smith stood up to hand him his registration, he immediately fell to the ground.
“A strong odor of an intoxicating beverage was coming from his breath and boat,” Officer Charland said. He added that approximately 20 to 30 empty beer cans were scattered across the floor of the boat.
Jayson Smith, 38, of Shrewsbury, Smith was brought aboard the police boat and arrested on the following charges:
- Boat OUI – Liquor or .08%
- Unsafe Operation of Motorboat
- Motorboat operator violation – Speeding after sunset
Smith was arraigned on June 22, 2026, in Westborough District Court. Smith pleaded not guilty during his arraignment, after which he was released on personal recognizance.
Smith’s next court date was a pretrial hearing scheduled for July 31, 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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