A Billerica man talked his way into being arrested after a car he was riding in was pulled over in Watertown.
On May 1 at 8:48 p.m., an officer on Arsenal Street by Irving Street noticed a smell of marijuana coming from a vehicle, and also saw a haze of smoke inside, said Watertown Police Lt. James O’Connor. The vehicle had a driver and two passengers, and the officer noticed the passengers were not wearing their seatbelts.
The office pulled the vehicle over and asked for everyone inside to provide their IDs. The driver and the passenger in the rear seat complied, but the one in the front seat did not.
“The front passenger refused to answer the officer, and continued to ignore the offices,” O’Connor said. “After several requests he said, ‘Tyler Anderson’ and began to scream the spelling of it.”
Police later learned his name was actually Tyler Healey.
When the officer was speaking to the driver, Healey continued to yell and interrupt. The driver took field sobriety tests and passed them.
The officer asked the passengers to get out of the vehicle, but Healey would not.
“He put his hands in his pockets after being told not to,” O’Connor said. “He reached into his pocket and took out a folded knife. He put it in the air and said, ‘Here you go.'”
A small amount of marijuana was found in the vehicle, which appeared to be for personal use, O’Connor said. While the officer explained the “open container” rules for marijuana in Massachusetts, the front passenger rolled his eyes.
The officer told the three they could get back into their vehicle but Healey refused.
“Healey stood up and began yelling profanities at the officers,” O’Connor said.
His friends told him to “shut up and get back in the car,” O’Connor said.
“Healey said to police, ‘I’ll fight you! I’ll fight you off duty,'” O’Connor said.
People began to stop to see what was happening. The man was placed into custody. While searching Healey, police found he had a counterfeit $20 bill and two counterfeit $10 bills, O’Connor said. Offices also discovered Healey was wanted on a warrant.
Tyler C. Healey, 20, of Billerica, was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, possession of counterfeit notes and the warrant from Waltham District Court for resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and assault and battery on a police officer, O’Connor said. He was also cited for not wearing a seatbelt.
Great job by the Police Officer in showing restraint and in every aspect of handling this situation.
As for Mr. Healey — I guess there is a reason they call it dope! He’s in the lead for the May Darwin Award !
I thought that a car could not be pulled over JUST because of not wearing seat belts.
The web says this:
Massachusetts Seat Belt Laws: As it stands right now, the law says you cannot get pulled over for failing to wear a seatbelt in the state of Massachusetts. … All drivers and passengers over the age of 13 must wear seatbelts at all times.
Did the officer pull the car over because of the smell of marijuana? But personal marijuana use is legal in this state. Did the car exhibit unusual behavior?
So if a car is emitting a smell of marijuana, it can be pulled over? I don’t understand this.
I think we need some answers here, don’t you?
I am wary of police doing things that the law does not allow them to do.
They too often throw their weight around.
We’ve all see the news reports about unnecessary police shootings.
We also know about the State Police scandal where they had ticket quotas and lots of other problems. Police have a difficult job but my job is tough too.
We need answers. Where are they?
I think it was pulled over for the marijuana smell.
The smell and the ‘haze’ are a reasonable indicator that the driver could be impaired. I’m not sure how you can smell something coming from another car unless you happen to be right next to it, but I guess it could happen. Bottom line is the kid brought it on himself.
I’m by no means defending the asinine behavior of the arrested party, however ……. That police officer must have one hell of a sense of smell. Two moving vehicles and he picked up the scent????
Perhaps you have been away, but yes, a car can be pulled over if there is a belief that it is being operated by a driver who is “under the influence”. Does not matter if it’s alcohol, meth or marijuana. Oh, and by the way, the law does allow them to do it. I don’t think any “answers” will make you change your anti-cop attitude until you become a victim and then beg for their help. Grow up!
Jaygee, posing questions about police behavior is not being “anti-cop”, but rather it is merely exercising the rights of citizenship. Remember that the authority of government is derived from the consent of the governed. Accountability to the public is one of the checks and balances designed to keep our justice system just.
Police Officers, being human beings, are capable of yielding to the temptation of bad behavior, corruption and criminality. Because we, as a society, place enormous trust in the police, give them prodigious authority and give them weapons and the power to use them in public, they must answer questions in order to maintain public confidence. The best police officers understand this.
There have been many incidents in the press recently that have documented questionable behavior and unjustifiable use of force by police. In our state, there have been credible reports of corruption in the Massachusetts State Police. Given much evidence of misbehavior by police, citizens are merely performing their civic duty by asking questions. There is nothing untoward or disrespectful about doing so.
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Idiot learned an important lesson in life: When you have an outstanding warrant out on yourself, and in possession of counterfeit bills, you don’t go around smoking weed in public, and challenging cops to a fight. Moron gets what he deserves.
This particular guy does deserve an award for gross stupidity. He probably could have walked away if he had kept his mouth shut.