ORANGE — On Wednesday, July 29, 2026, at approximately 7:47 a.m., the Shelburne Control Dispatch Center received a 911 hang-up call from the area of 240 Hayden Street. Dispatchers attempted to call the number back, but received no answer. Shortly afterward, the center received another call reporting a disturbance between a man and a woman near Hayden Street and Cloukey Avenue.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Tim Powling and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
Orange Police Officers Tim Powling and Chad Softic, along with Chief James Sullivan, responded to the scene in their assigned cruisers.
“As I pulled onto Hayden Street by way of East River Street, I could see a vehicle down in the area of Burrill Avenue with its emergency flasher’s activated,” Officer Powling said. “As I proceeded down Hayden Street, I then could see a female party wearing a pinkish shirt standing in the street waving her hands. As I got closer to where the disturbance was occurring, I then could see Courtney Lawton yelling in the street as there was a female party, later identified as Sarah [last name redacted] trying to separate Courtney from her boyfriend, Jose [last name redacted].”
According to police, Courtney Lawton, 26, is a resident of Orange, MA.
“There was traffic starting to build up as this area has a fairly decent size neighborhood,” Officer Powling noted. “Also, Hayden Street serves as one of the main access points to Mahar Regional High School, which does have summer school in session during this time.”
Officer Powling said he exited his cruiser upon arriving at the scene and called for Jose to come over to speak with him.
“Due to the level of Courtney’s screaming and hysterically crying, I don’t think Jose was able to hear me,” Officer Powling said.
Instead, Officer Softic, who had also arrived on scene, separated Jose from Lawton and escorted him farther down the sidewalk to speak with him.
“I then called Courtney over to speak with me so I could find out what had happened this morning,” Officer Powling said. “It should be noted that the vehicle that had its hazard lights on was now pulled to the side of the road.”
Chief Sullivan walked over and spoke with another man, who was later identified as Duane.
“I attempted to try to speak with Courtney and asked her what happened this morning,” Officer Powling said. “She kept going on that she just wanted to be left alone, however, her boyfriend, Jose, kept contacting her.”
Officer Powling noted that the Orange Police Department had provided Lawton with a courtesy ride at approximately 6:08 a.m. that morning after she was found walking in and out of traffic on Route 202 and was nearly struck by a vehicle.
“Courtney again kept yelling that she just wanted to be left alone and wanted to go home and sleep, but Jose won’t let her,” Officer Powling said. “Courtney was advised several times to calm down due to her volume and close proximity to households. This didn’t seem to faze Courtney who just continued to yell. With this issue, Courtney was eventually escorted and placed in the rear of my cruiser. She was advised that she was just being detained at this time.”
Officer Powling said that after Lawton was secured in his cruiser, Chief Sullivan informed him that she had reportedly taken “a bunch of pills” earlier that morning.
Officer Powling said he then spoke with Duane, who had accompanied Jose to the residence to bring Lawton to the hospital.
“However, when Jose got to the house, Jose and Courtney started yelling,” Officer Powling said. “Jose didn’t want to deal with this issue and decided that he was going to leave. Duane then stated that Courtney started running after Jose and the vehicle and thought that she was holding a knife.”
Duane said that as he attempted to leave, Lawton jumped onto the hood of his vehicle in an attempt to stop him. Duane said he stopped the vehicle while Lawton was on the hood, and she and Jose continued arguing.
After speaking with Duane, Officer Powling said he went to speak with Sarah, the woman who was attempting to separate Lawton from Jose when police arrived on scene.
“Sarah stated that she heard a bunch of yelling this morning, which brought her attention to the road,” Officer Powling said. “She stated that she thought the vehicle had hit Courtney the first time as it attempted to leave. However, she did state that Courtney then jumped on the hood of the vehicle.
Officer Powling said Sarah told him and Officer Softic that she had known Lawton for a long time because Lawton had grown up next door to her.
“She further added that Courtney needs help and that her behavior this morning wasn’t normal,” Officer Powling said. “Knowing Courtney since she was little, she attempted several times to get Courtney to come inside her home to calm down, however, that was unsuccessful.”
Officer Powling asked Sarah if she saw Lawton running after Jose, or the vehicle, with a knife. Sarah said she didn’t see a knife.
After speaking with Sarah, Officer Powling walked over to Lawton’s residence on Hayden Street.
“I could see a pair of slippers in the road and then a pile of personal property on the front lawn,” Officer Powling said. “I could see Courtney’s backpack, a blanket and other personal effects. I was unable to find or locate a knife. Officer Softic secured Courtney’s property in the rear of the residence.”
Officer Powling said that as he made his way back to the cruiser, he observed a man walking back from Lawton’s residence.
“I heard him tell Sarah that she did a great job with this situation this morning,” Officer Powling said. “Then [he] turned to me and states that he attempted to try and call the PD [police department] this morning several times as he saw and heard the commotion, but due to a phone update he was unable to.”
When he returned to where Chief Sullivan and Jose were, Officer Powling said he asked Jose if he could show him the message that Lawton sent stating that she had taken a bunch of pills.
Officer Powling said Jose was reluctant to show him the messages, but he observed one in which Lawton stated that she had a bottle of pills “in front of her face and that she was going to take them.”
“With all that had happened this morning and Courtney’s reference to taking pills, it was determined that Courtney was to be brought to Athol Memorial Hospital under a Section 12,” Officer Powling said. A Section 12 order allows a person to be involuntarily hospitalized under state law if they pose a risk of serious harm to themselves or others by reason of mental illness.
Officer Powling then returned to his cruiser where he said Lawton was on the phone with her mother and crying hysterically.
“I asked Courtney about the pills and she stated that she didn’t take any this morning,” Officer Powling said. “However, I informed Courtney that she was going to be brought up to the hospital under a Section 12.”
At this time, Officer Powling said Lawton became agitated, raised her voice, and insisted she did not need to go to the hospital.
“I again informed Courtney that she was going to AMH [Athol Memorial Hospital] under a Section 12,” Officer Powling said. “Courtney’s mom, who was still on the phone, also told Courtney that she needed to go to the hospital.”
Officer Powling said that after Lawton ended the call with her mother, he told her she would be handcuffed with her hands in front of her body.
“I was able to place the first handcuff onto Courtney’s right wrist,” Officer Powling said. “However, as that first handcuff went on, Courtney then started to freak out and started to pull away.”
Officer Powling said that because of Lawton’s behavior, he attempted to pull her from the rear of the cruiser so she could be more securely restrained. Lawton then braced her feet against the door frame to prevent officers from removing her.
“After several attempts, Officer Softic was able to calm Courtney down just enough so she could be handcuffed in front. However, when we attempted to secure Courtney with a seat belt, she again started screaming,” Officer Powling said. “At this time, it was determined that due to Courtney’s highly volatile state that she was now going to be placed under arrest.”
Officer Powling added that dispatch received several calls about the disturbance because it occurred in a densely populated neighborhood near the regional high school.
“Due to her volatile state, a hospital was not the safest option,” Officer Powling said. “Courtney was then transported back to the station for booking.”
Courtney Lawton, 26, of Orange, was charged with the following:
- Disturbing the Peace
- Disorderly Conduct
“While at the station for booking, Courtney was provided all applicable rights and use of the telephone,” Officer Powling said. “After the booking process was complete, Courtney was then transported to the Orange District Court House where she was then transferred into the custody of court staff.”
Lawton was scheduled to be arraigned in Orange District Court at 9:35 a.m. on July 29, 2026, the day of her arrest.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in July, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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