Civilians Lauded for Helping Mass. Officer

SALISBURY — Police are lauding Good Samaritans who came to the aid of an officer after he was attacked on Route 1 by a suspect, who is now in custody facing multiple charges.

According to Salisbury police Chief Tom Fowler, Jamie Liversidge, 33, of 120 State St., Newburyport, has been charged with assault and battery on a police officer, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and providing a false name to law enforcement. Liversidge is also wanted on outstanding warrants, Fowler said, two from Amesbury for possession of heroin and a motor vehicle charge, and another warrant from Rockingham County in New Hampshire.

The charges stem from a incident that occurred on Friday about 4 p.m., when officer Richard Dellaria stopped Liversidge after he noticed him riding erratically on a bicycle along the northern end of Route 1. Asked for identification, Liversidge first gave Dellaria the wrong name, which was called in, Fowler said.

As he turned to go back, Dellaria noticed Liversidge attempting to hide something, Fowler said, and when he called out to him, the suspect charged the officer, knocking him down and grappling with him on the ground.

“They ended up rolling around on Route 1,” Fowler said. “That’s when people passing came to my officer’s aid.”

Fowler said a number of people stopped to help Dellaria.

“Terry Adams, of Hampton, (N.H.), and Justin Cooper, from Seabrook, were driving by. When they saw what was going on, they stopped and got out of their vehicle to help,” Fowler said. “And Terry Maregi, who works at TCS Communication, which is near where this happened, came out to help. So did Mark Oughton of Salisbury.”

Fowler said Dellaria couldn’t get to the portable radio on his belt because the microphone had been knocked off in the melee. That’s when a local woman used her head.

“Carla Collins, in front of whose house this whole thing went down, had the presence of mind to go over to Dellaria’s cruiser, grab his radio and say, ‘One of your officers needs help on Lafayette Road,” Fowler said. “Needless to say that got our attention and every one in the station responded.”

They weren’t the only ones. Collins’ call on the police cruise radio went out of the scanner to anyone monitoring the frequency, including other police departments. Seabrook police Sgt. John Wasson, and officers Michael Cawley and Justin Murphy heard the call and raced for the scene as did Amesbury officers. The first person on the scene after the call went out was Salisbury firefighter Kenny Trofatter.

“By the time we got to the scene, officer Dellaria, with the help of the others, had the situation back under control and Liversridge in custody,” Fowler said. “We’re lucky officer Dellaria is a strong, young and healthy officer. We called Amesbury and told them not to respond, but I am very grateful to all every officers who moved to come and help.”

Fowler said Dellaria has a few bumps and bruises, but is just fine, processing Liversidge’s arrest at the station Friday night.

Too often, Fowler said, news stories are written about bystanders who do nothing to help when people are in danger, because they don’t want to get involved. This was not the case in Salisbury, Friday night, he said.

“I can’t thank enough everyone who stopped to help my officer,” said Fowler, who only recently took over as Salisbury’s Police Department. “This was a dangerous situation that could have resulted in a police officer and the suspect being seriously injured. This proves there are still a lot of good people out there, and I am very, very grateful.”