Shrewsbury Man Arrested for OUI After Hitting Officer With Side View Mirror

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

GoLocalWorcester News Team

A Shrewsbury man was arrested for operating a car under the influence of alcohol after hit a police officer with the side view mirror of the car.

Matthew Graves, 25, was charged with Failure to Slow for a Pedestrian in the Roadway, Leaving the Scene of a Personal Injury Accident, Operating an MV Negligently so as to Endanger and Operating an MV While Under the Influence of Alcohol.

The Incident

On Saturday, September 9, at approximately 1:45 AM, several Worcester Police officers responded to Centerfolds, located at 229 Southwest Cutoff (Rt. 20), to assist a detail officer working there trying to quell a disturbance. Upon the officer's arrival, they were told by the detail officer that the disturbance was over. The group of males causing the problem had left the establishment and was now across the street waiting for a ride.

There were several marked cruisers at the scene with their emergency lights activated. At this time one of the males in the group signaled a police officer to cross the street and speak with him. The officer crossed the street to talk to the male. The officer was positioned off to the side of the road. At this time a vehicle, traveling westbound struck the officer in his left arm with the passenger side mirror. The impact snapped the mirror off of the vehicle. The vehicle did not stop. The officer called out that he was just struck by a vehicle that was heading west on Rt. 20. The officer was unable to obtain the license plate number of the vehicle. The officer and a couple of other police units immediately began to head west in search of the vehicle. The search produced negative results. The officer went to the hospital to be treated for some minor injuries. The officer was released after treatment.

A supervisor at the scene recovered the side view mirror and transported it back to police headquarters. The supervisor handed the mirror to another supervisor that has extensive crash reconstruction experience. The supervisor was aware that the mirror contained a part number that could be traced back to a specific year and model of the vehicle that it came off of. The supervisor immediately ran the part number and it was quickly determined that the mirror came off of a Ford Fusion. The mirror was colored light gray. With this information, police broadcasted to all surrounding police departments to be on the lookout for a light gray Ford Fusion.

A short time later, a Massachusetts State trooper made contact with a vehicle that fit the description. The trooper signaled the Ford to stop on the eastbound side of route 290. The trooper approached the vehicle and observed that this car was missing the passenger side view mirror.

Several officers responded to where the trooper stopped the Ford. Officers at the scene had a conversation with the driver. The driver was identified as Graves. Based on the evidence left at the scene (recovered side mirror), the information that Graves provided and the officer's observations, Graves was placed under arrest.

The officer was cleared to return to normal duty.