ORANGE — On Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, at approximately 8:17 p.m., Orange Police Officer Bradley Jacques was dispatched to a residence on Daniel Shays Highway following a report of a physical altercation between four parties who were fighting in the front yard and rolling around on the ground.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officers Bradley Jacques and Kyle Johnson and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
Officer Kyle Johnson and Officer Christopher Bisceglia also responded to the scene.
“The reporting party and his wife was leaving Herrick’s Tavern’s parking lot after dinner when they reported it,” Officer Jacques said. “The reporting party stated when they were leaving, they could hear a verbal altercation.”
The reporting party said there were two men pushing each other around and the bigger bald male ended up on top of the other male who was yelling at him to stop.
“The reporting party also stated that two female parties were also involved yelling at each other,” Officer Jacques said. “The reporting party and his wife felt the need to call this disturbance in as it was alarming and seemed as if, ‘There all drunk and needed to go to bed.’”
Officer Jacques said that upon arrival at the residence on Daniel Shay’s Highway, which is across the street from Herrick’s Tavern, four people were sitting on the front steps of the porch.
“As Officer Johnson, Officer Bisceglia, and I approached we informed the individuals that there was a call for a physical altercation at this address. The individuals were separated to be interviewed,” Officer Jacques said.
Officer Jacques said Officer Johnson interviewed Wayne Craver, 45, while Officer Bisceglia spoke with Craver’s wife. Jacques interviewed Jason’s 34-year-old girlfriend, while Jason, 53, remained seated on the front steps.
“[Jason’s girlfriend] informed me that she has had a few drinks this evening,” Officer Jacques said. “I asked [Jason’s girlfriend] what happened and she stated that Mr. Craver has had a little bit too much to drink and misunderstood a comment that [Jason] had made.”
Jason’s girlfriend said that Craver and Jason began to have a heated argument, so she stepped in between them to separate them before the heated argument became physical.
Officer Johnson said that he asked Craver to step away from the other individuals and speak with him.
According to police, Wayne A. Craver, 45, is a resident of Orange, MA.
“Craver complied and walked with me over to the side of the front lawn away from the other parties,” Officer Johnson said. “I asked him if he had any weapons on him and he replied, ‘My hands and my feet.’ He held his hands up and I could see from his clothing that he was not armed.”
Officer Johnson asked Craver what happened.
“Craver responded, ‘Nothing.’ I asked him if he was fighting and he said, ‘No, we just had a little argument and that was it,” Officer Johnson said. “I observed signs of impairment while speaking with Craver. He had a strong odor of alcoholic beverage coming off his breath and he was slurring his words when he spoke. I also observed a red mark above his right eyebrow that appeared to be fresh.”
Officer Johnson then asked Craver what the argument was about.
“He stated, ‘It was just a miscommunication, that’s all,’” Officer Johnson said. “I asked him for more detail. Craver said, ‘I thought he said something about my wife.’”
Officer Johnson asked Craver if he was referring to Jason who was seated on the front steps.
“Craver confirmed the altercation was between him and [Jason],” Officer Johnson said. “Craver said [Jason] is his landlord and has been his friend for 34 years. Craver referred to [Jason] as his ‘brother.’ I asked Craver where he and [Jason] live. He said they both live at [# redacted] Daniel Shays Highway.”
Officer Johnson said that, at this point, he began investigating the incident as a potential domestic disturbance involving an assault and battery.
“Craver continued to deny that the altercation became physical at any point. I asked to see his hands and he showed me,” Officer Johnson said. “I did not see any marks on his hands. I told Craver he had a red mark above his eyebrow and I asked him what that was from. He said he was rubbing his eyes as he demonstrated rubbing his eyes. His hands did not make contact with the mark above his eye when he demonstrated and I did not believe that was consistent with the minor injury I was observing.”
Officer Johnson asked Craver if the mark above his eye was caused by someone hitting him.
“He said, ‘Trust me, if someone hit me I would fucking lay ’em out, bro,’” Officer Johnson said. “Based on my conversation with Craver, the statement from the reporting party, and the inconsistent explanation about the mark on his face, I believed Craver was lying about not having a physical altercation.”
Officer Johnson said Craver then stated, “I don’t know who called, but there’s no need for this.”
“I informed him that someone at Herrick’s Tavern, which is across the street from this address, saw them fighting. Craver responded, ‘I don’t give a f*ck who seen it,’” Officer Johnson said. “I told Craver that was why the police were on the property and speaking with them. Craver immediately began to verbally escalate. Craver went on, ‘I don’t give a f*ck, dude. No one needs to get in people’s business.’ I told him, if you guys are yelling and fighting, people are going to call the cops. He said, ‘It doesn’t matter, dude. I don’t give a f*ck, dude. I come from a different breed (inaudible).’ I told Craver I couldn’t understand him. Craver replied, ‘That’s fine for you (inaudible).’”
Officer Johnson said that, at around this time, Craver started walking away from him in the direction of Jason, who was still seated on the front steps.
“Craver’s voice became louder and he became more animated by speaking with his hands,” Officer Johnson said. “He stated, ‘You can get off my property, too. You can get off my property.’ I was still investigating this incident as a potential domestic assault and battery and Craver had identified [Jason] as the other involved party. I had reason to believe that the altercation had become physical as I previously stated. Therefore, I did not want to allow Craver to approach [Jason].”
Officer Johnson said that when Craver told him to leave the property and began walking toward Jason, he instructed Craver to return to where they had been speaking. However, Craver spoke over Officer Johnson and continued walking toward Jason.
“I motioned with my hand for him to come back over to me but he continued to walk away. I raised my voice above his voice and told him to start following directions or I would put him in cuffs,” Officer Johnson said. “Craver’s erratic behavior was creating an unsafe situation as he approached [Jason] to within approximately 10 feet and continuing to advance toward him.”
Officer Johnson said he stepped in front of Craver and placed his hand on his left shoulder to turn him away from Jason and to place himself between the two men.
“Once I was between the two parties and I had Craver’s attention, I told him again to return to the edge of the front lawn where we were previously speaking,” Officer Johnson said. “I kept my right hand lightly on his chest to guide him away from [Jason]. I asked him if he understood. Craver continued to yell at me to get off his property. He was waving his left arm up and down as he spoke, still clearly escalated. I continued to tell him to move back while he yelled at me that he has rights while continuing to wave his arm around as he spoke. Craver was backpedaling toward the area I was telling him to go to but then stopped completely while squared up with me face-to-face.”
Officer Johnson said he decided to detain Craver and place him in handcuffs after Craver stopped walking toward the designated area, confronted him face-to-face and continued yelling.
Officer Johnson said he believed detaining Craver was necessary to secure the scene because of Craver’s increasingly erratic behavior.
“I grabbed onto Craver’s left arm and I told him, ‘Turn around, you’re going in cuffs,’” Officer Johnson said. “Immediately upon grabbing onto Craver’s left arm with two hands, he became actively resistant. I felt the muscles in his arm tense up and he pulled his arm back and up toward his body. I held onto his arm and told him again, ‘Turn around, you’re going in cuffs.’ At this point, I saw Craver’s left hand ball up into a fist as he continued to pull and lift his arm. I decided to bring Craver to the ground to help gain control of him. I used an arm-bar take-down technique, a technique I have been trained to use for an actively resistant suspect. I brought Craver down to the ground in a safe and controlled manner while maintaining control of his left arm. Once he was on the ground, I could feel Craver continuing to resist. He pulled his right arm under his body.”
Officer Johnson said that at this time, Officer Jacques came over to assist.
“[Officer Jacques] was able to pull Craver’s right arm out from underneath his body and secure it behind his back,” Officer Johnson said. “I could see Craver still trying to pull his right arm back. Officer Jacques used a rear wristlock to maintain control of the right arm until we secured him in handcuffs.”
Officer Johnson said he was then able to secure Craver with two sets of handcuffs.
“I used two sets of handcuffs because I could feel that he had limited shoulder mobility. After the handcuffs were on, I checked them for proper fit. I observed the handcuff on his right wrist was too tight and Craver began complaining that it was too tight,” Officer Johnson said. “I told him I would adjust it. I removed the right handcuff and resecured it on his right wrist with the proper fit. Both handcuffs were then double-locked. Craver was sat up and searched before being secured in the rear seat of Officer Bisceglia’s patrol vehicle. I informed him he was under arrest for disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace. Officer Bisceglia transported Craver to the station to begin booking while Officer Jacques and I remained on-scene to complete the investigation into the original call. I spoke briefly with Officer Jacques and Officer Bisceglia to gather some information. By all accounts, it sounded as if Craver has consumed too much alcohol and was the root of the issues. I was told there was a physical altercation between Craver and Jason, but at that point, we did not know to what degree.”
Officer Johnson said he began speaking with Jason, who was searching the grass for a dental partial he had lost during the altercation.
Officer Johnson said he checked Jason for injuries and, after observing none, asked him to explain what happened.
Jason said his girlfriend was on the phone inside the house when Craver’s wife knocked on the door.
“[Jason] asked [Craver’s wife] to leave for a moment to give [Jason’s girlfriend] some privacy,” Officer Johnson said. “[Craver’s wife] told Craver that [Jason] made her leave. Craver then went to [Jason] to confront him about what he said to his wife.”
Officer Johnson said Jason told him that Craver became increasingly agitated and began yelling and screaming.
“Craver continued to challenge [Jason],” Officer Johnson said.
Jason then went outside to the front lawn, which is directly visible from Herrick’s Tavern’s parking lot.
Jason said Craver then threatened to hit him and knock him to the ground.
“[Jason] said he tried to tell him they weren’t going to do that,” Officer Johnson said. “He and Craver got closer and closer until they both grabbed onto each other. Craver then began to, ‘struggle,’ and the two male parties went down to the ground. This is when [Jason] lost his dental partial.”
Jason said they both got back up and continued to fight.
“They both went back to the ground when [Jason] was able to hold him down until he was calm. [Jason] said Craver tried to hit him but was never able to,” Officer Johnson said. Adding, “I believe it was during this altercation that the reporting party’s attention was drawn to the area. After the two separated, the police arrived on scene approximately one minute later, according to [Jason].”
Officer Johnson said he asked Jason if he and Craver were related in any way.
“[Jason] said he has known Craver and his whole family for a very long time but the two are not related. I asked him about the living arrangements,” Officer Johnson said. “[Jason] explained that they both live in the same house at…Daniel Shays Highway, but the house is divided into completely separate living areas. Craver lives on one end and has his own entrance/exit, bathroom, kitchen, bedroom and [Jason] has his own, as well. [Jason] owns the house and rents out the other end to Craver. They do not live in any shared areas. Based on this information, although there is probable cause that a physical altercation occurred, the relationship between the two involved in the altercation does not meet the criteria for a domestic assault and battery: household members.”
Officer Johnson asked Jason if he wanted to pursue criminal charges against Craver and he declined.
Wayne A. Craver, 45, of Orange, was charged with following:
- Disturbing the Peace
- Disorderly Conduct
- Resist Arrest
“Bail Commissioner Marianne Kissane was called and set bail to personal recognizance,” Officer Jacques said. “Mr. Craver was asked if he wanted to press charges against [Jason] and declined to do so.”
At approximately 10:19 p.m., Officer Jacques said Craver was released from custody and given a ride back to his residence by Officer Bisceglia.
Craver’s arraignment was scheduled for Aug. 22, 2026, in Orange District Court.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in August, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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