TOWNSEND – On Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, at approximately 6:34 p.m., Townsend Police Officer Christopher Tucker was dispatched to a residence on Lunenburg Road following a report of a verbal domestic incident involving a man and a woman.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Christopher Tucker and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“I am familiar with this address and have responded to this address frequently over the course of six years,” Officer Tucker said. Officer Tucker said he knew the man to be Shawn Gyles and was also familiar with the woman, Gyle’s girlfriend.
According to police, Shawn D. Gyles, 44, is a resident of West Townsend, MA.
“I know that Shawn has an active warrant for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon from Ayer District Court, issued on Aug. 24, 2026,” Officer Tucker said. “This warrant was based on a previous incident that occurred on Aug. 23, 2026. I know that Shawn has been physically violent in the past and is known to flee from the police.”
Officer Tucker called for backup from Lunenburg Police Officers John Wagner and Brody Tapply. He added that Townsend Police Officer Andrew Romano also responded to the scene.
“Officer Romano and I were first to arrive on scene,” Officer Tucker said, adding that as he approached the residence, he turned off his cruiser’s blue lights and parked across the street.
“I saw that the garage door was open,” Officer Tucker said. “Almost every time I have spoken with Shawn or interacted with him, he has used the garage door to exit the house.”
Officer Tucker said he could see people moving from the street, but the trees obstructed his view, so he could only see their legs. He then saw them walk into the garage before the garage door closed.
At around this time, Officer Tucker exited his cruiser as Officer Wagner and Tapply arrived on scene.
“I asked Officer Wagner to watch the north rear side of the house and Officer Tapply to watch the south backside of the house,” Officer Tucker said. Adding, “Officer Wagner is a K9 officer with a search dog.”
Officer Romano then covered the front door while Officer Tucker approached the left bay of the garage.
“I knocked on the door to the garage,” Officer Tucker said. “Moments later, I heard Shawn’s voice from the window next to the garage. I could not tell what he said, but after dealing with him for many years I know what his voice sounds like.”
Officer Tucker said he drew his taser because he knew that Gyles could become physically violent when agitated.
“I knocked again and announced my presence,” Officer Tucker said, adding that he believed Gyle’s male roommate might be in the house as well.
“Typically, if Shawn does not answer the door, [Gyle’s girlfriend] or [Gyle’s roommate] will come outside to talk with us, this did not happen,” Officer Tucker said.
Officer Tucker also noticed that the upstairs window on the north side of the house was closed.
“If Shawn does not come to the door, he normally will stick his head out that window and speak with us,” Officer Tucker said. “The house also appeared to be closed up, the blinds on the windows were drawn. I tried knocking and asked for someone to come out and speak with me, it did not work.”
Officer Tucker said he contacted dispatch to identify the neighbor who had reported the alleged domestic incident. After obtaining the caller’s name and address, he asked dispatch to contact the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC) so he could request additional resources and consult with the agency.
Officer Tucker said he then walked over to the reporting party’s residence and spoke with her.
“She told me that she heard Shawn and his girlfriend…arguing outside,” Officer Tucker said.
The reporting party added that she has heard Gyles and his girlfriend arguing outside on multiple occasions during the two and a half to three years she has lived next door to them.
“I asked…how sure she was that it was Shawn’s voice,” Officer Tucker said. “She told me she was ‘100% sure.’ [The reporting party] told me that she wanted to remain confidential and is scared that Shawn will seek reprisals.”
Officer Tucker told her that if anything else happens, she could get a harassment prevention order.
At around this time, Pepperell Police Officers Daniel D’Eon and Dan Adams, a K-9 officer, arrived on scene to assist.
“I believed Shawn was inside the house, I believed he was trying to evade arrest by not speaking with us,” Officer Tucker said. He added that he believed Gyles’ girlfriend and possibly his roommate were also inside the residence.
Officer Tucker said he also believed Gyles was barricading himself inside the house to evade arrest.
Officer Tucker then returned to his cruiser to obtain additional information for NEMLEC and instructed the officers on scene to hold their positions while awaiting further direction.
According to Officer Tucker, Gyles’ adult Board of Probation record contained 132 entries, including numerous charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm without a permit, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, among other offenses.
Officer Tucker said that based on his previous encounters with Gyles and what he described as Gyles’ unpredictable and violent behavior, he believed additional resources were necessary.
“I spoke with NEMLEC SWAT Chief [Scott] Nix and passed along this information,” Officer Tucker said. “He agreed to call out a NEMLEC SWAT platoon, including negotiators.”
Over the next several hours, NEMLEC SWAT personnel arrived on scene and replaced the four patrol officers on the perimeter.
“Once I had enough resources, I allocated Officer Wagner to block traffic at Old City Road and Lunenburg Road [and] Officer D’Eon to block Bayberry Hill Road and Lunenburg Road for scene security,” Officer Tucker said. “I also had dispatch send Townsend Fire/EMS to the scene to stage for EMS coverage. From there, NEMLEC took over primary control of the scene and I assisted them with my patrol assets. Sergeant [Dylan] Silvestri also arrived on scene to assist with man power.”
A negotiator with NEMLEC used a loudspeaker to call Gyles out of the house over the course of half an hour. NEMLEC officers also conducted a limited breach of the front door in an attempt to make further contact with Gyles, Officer Tucker said.
At approximately 9:35 p.m., Gyles surrendered himself to the NEMLEC officers.
Officer Tucker said he assisted NEMLEC with a secondary pat-down of Gyles. He also replaced Gyles’ handcuffs, double-locked them and checked them for tightness before placing him in the rear of a cruiser for transport.
“NEMELC also gave me a green sweatshirt and black sweatpants that were later logged into his property,” Officer Tucker said.
Officer Tucker said that while he was transporting Gyles to the Townsend Police Department for booking, he said he was not feeling well.
“I told Shawn that once we got back to the station I would have someone check him out,” Officer Tucker said. “During transport, Shawn continued to complain he was not feeling well and that he had chest pain. Moments later, he stopped responding to me. Fearing for his wellbeing, I told dispatch to have the ambulance meet me at Dee Bus [Service] (a business on Main Street). I pulled into the parking lot and attended to Shawn. I knew the ambulance was not far behind me. Once EMS arrived, as well as Officer Romano, Sergeant Silvestri and Officer D’Eon, I was able to transfer Shawn to the ambulance stretcher.”
Officer Tucker said he then removed Gyles’ handcuffs and reattached them to the ambulance stretcher, checking them for tightness.
“I rode with EMS to Leominster Hospital so that they could provide further medical care for Shawn,” Officer Tucker said. “Sergeant Silvestri stayed with Shawn at the hospital. In the meantime, Officer Romano contacted Bail Commissioner Matt Day at 10:03 p.m. He ordered Shawn to be held until court.”
Shawn D. Gyles, 44, of West Townsend, MA, was charged with the following:
- Resist Arrest
Gyles was arraigned in Ayer District Court on Aug. 27, 2026. Following his arraignment, Gyles was released on personal recognizance under the condition that he stay away from the victim and their address, submit to random drug and alcohol screenings, and possess no dangerous weapons or destructive devices, including firearms or shotguns.
Gyles attended a pretrial hearing on Sept. 10, 2026. His next court date is a discovery, compliance and election hearing scheduled for Oct. 7, 2026, in Ayer 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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