Clinton man arrested for pulling box cutter on man who told him to stop throwing trash around public park

CLINTON — On Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, at approximately 5:35 p.m., Clinton Police Officers Shane Gilman and Brian O’Malley responded to a residence on Beacon Street after a man who resides there reported that he had just been threatened with a knife by a man wearing a tank top at the corner of Beacon and Park streets.

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

“On arrival, Officer O’Malley and I were waved down by [the reporting party] and his wife,” Officer Gilman said. “They were located at the corner of Park Street and Beacon Street. They advised us a male party was in the public park across the street throwing trash everywhere.”

The reporting party told Officer Gilman that after he told the man to stop throwing trash everywhere, he picked up the trash in an aggressive manner and yelled “f*ck you” at the reporting party and called his wife an “old hag.”

“That’s when [the reporting party] started to approach him and the male party pulled out what appeared to be a folding knife,” Officer Gilman said. “[The reporting party] stated he felt threatened and went back to grab his firearm. Once [the reporting party] got back to his residence, he decided to call 911.”

Officer Gilman said he then spoke with a Park Street resident who provided him with CCTV (closed-circuit television) footage of the suspect walking up the street.

“The footage showed a white male, shirtless, with a black tank top draped over his shoulder, black shorts, black shoes with a baseball cap,” Officer Gilman said.

After reviewing the surveillance footage, Officer Gilman said he identified the man as William Varnum.

According to police, William Varnum, 36, is a resident of Clinton, MA.

“I was able to identify Mr. Varnum due to Clinton Police Department having multiple dealings with him,” Officer Gilman explained. “It should also be noted Mr. Varnum called the station advising dispatch that he knew we were trying to locate him and also stating his fiancé had no involvement.”

Officer Gilman said that, at this time, he responded to Varnum’s apartment on Park Street with Officer O’Malley and Officer David Johnson.

Upon arrival, Officer O’Malley knocked on Varnum’s door. Varnum answered and invited the officers inside to speak with him, according to Officer Gilman.

“Officer O’Malley then read Mr. Varnum his Miranda rights from a card he keeps on his person,” Officer Gilman said. “At this time, Mr. Varnum stated to us that he was threatened with a gun and admitted to pulling out a box cutter on [the reporting party].”

Officer Gilman said Varnum was then placed under arrest and escorted to the rear of his cruiser.

“He was then transported to the Clinton Police Department where he was booked and afforded all applicable rights,” Officer Gilman said. Later adding, “Note: Mr. Varnum stated he put the box cutter in a drawer, and we were unable to locate it.”

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Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place earlier 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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