Friday, April 10, 2015

Hurley Tried to Hurt Cops

"Man in intensive care after being shot by police in Fitchburg" by Jacqueline Tempera, Globe Correspondent  February 21, 2015

A Leominster man was in intensive care Saturday after he was shot Friday by Fitchburg police investigating reports that he was attacking another man with a knife, according to a statement from Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.’s office.

Police responded to 620 Pearl Hill Road in Fitchburg about 10:45 p.m. after they received a report that a man armed with a knife was attacking a resident.

Richard Hurley, 26, of Leominster, allegedly charged at the officers when they arrived, waving his knife, according to a statement from the district attorney’s office.

Officers ordered Hurley to drop the knife, and he allegedly refused. The two officers, whose names were withheld, fired several rounds, striking Hurley, prosecutors said in the statement.

The stabbing victim, 44-year-old Kevin Cormier, who lives in the home, was rushed to the hospital with a hand injury after he called 911.

Hurley was taken to HealthAlliance Hospital in Leominster and was later transferred to the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, where he was in intensive care Saturday afternoon, according to Paul Jarvey, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office.

Jarvey said he did not know if the men knew each other or what the motive was for the attack.

The officers involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave, according to protocol, while the State Police Detectives assigned to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office investigate.

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