Dec. 20, 2022The Massachusetts State Police K-9 Unit’s West team was training in Chicopee when a call came in of police chasing a man accused of pistol-whipping a person in a domestic violence incident.
By Tristan Smith Source masslive.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
A Massachusetts State Police K-9 unit training exercise in Chicopee last week escalated into a real-life search and arrest of a man accused of pistol-whipping an individual during a domestic violence incident.
Last week, Tuesday, Dec. 13, every member of the Massachusetts State Police K-9 Unit’s West team was engaged in a training exercise in Chicopee, according to a state police spokesperson. During the officers’ training, they received a report of Chicopee police chasing down a man accused of pistol-whipping a person in a domestic violence incident.
Chicopee police lost sight of the suspect at a trailer park on Kon Tiki Circle, adjacent to a Honda dealership. The Massachusetts State Police unit ran over to lend a helping hand in the search.
State Police Officer Ken Hanchett and his partner K-9 Orry were on the scene sweeping around several yards in the area where the suspect was last seen. Orry picked up a trail behind a residence on Kon Tiki Circle, leading to authorities uncovering fresh footprints in the snow, according to a department spokesperson.
State police said the K-9 continued to move east through the trailer park, crossing several roads and a small wooded area to reach Sunrise Lane. Orry led troopers past numerous mobile homes and then turned northeast where the K-9 reached a large fence that enclosed a junkyard on Donohue Road.
Orry and Hanchett walked through a break in the fence and entered the junkyard, the state police spokesperson stated.
The K-9 alerted Hanchett that the suspect was nearby, somewhere along a row of junked vehicles. Orry’s focus was later set on a red dump truck carrying a salt box on its bed. Hanchett blared out a K-9 warning, announcing that any suspect there should surrender or face apprehension by the police dog.
The suspect, later identified as 27-year-old Nathan Leblanc, shouted and told police he was hiding inside the dump truck. Trooper Hanchett ordered Leblanc to get out of the truck and onto the ground as several other Troopers provided cover.
Leblanc surrendered without further incident, was handcuffed, and turned over to the custody of the Chicopee Police Department, according to officials.