June 01--HAVERHILL -- Former state trooper Charles Noyes was given special treatment by West Newbury and Haverhill police officers due to his previous position, according to an internal investigation by the Haverhill department.
The investigation by Haverhill police Deputy Chief Donald Thompson concluded Haverhill and West Newbury officers declined to charge the retired state police deputy superintendent with driving while intoxicated, even though they had enough evidence to do so the night of March 30.
The Eagle-Tribune obtained a report detailing the investigation. The report said West Newbury police were in the best position to charge Noyes, 62, with drunken driving because West Newbury Sgt. Daniel Cena witnessed Noyes behind the wheel of his mangled Cadillac Escalade and watched him stumble out the driver's side door. Noyes told Cena he was "alone and coming from Boston" when questioned by the officer, according to the report.
Officers from Haverhill, West Newbury and Merrimac and a paramedic from the Trinity EMS ambulance company all believed Noyes had been drinking alcohol and should have been given a field sobriety test, according to Thompson's report. No test was given, however.
Noyes told the paramedic he had consumed two drinks containing alcohol, the report said.
The report said Haverhill officers at the scene suggested that West Newbury officers charge Noyes with driving under the influence, but that they declined.
"It is at this point that Sgt. Cena stated that he would not charge Noyes with OUI as his chief and the district attorney would be upset with him," the report said.
Messages left yesterday at the West Newbury police station for Cena and West Newbury police Chief Lisa Holmes were not returned.
Three Haverhill officers involved in the incident have each been suspended for a week.
On March 30, Noyes crashed his vehicle into a utility pole around 10:30 p.m. on Route 113 in West Newbury, snapping it in half and cutting power to the surrounding area for almost 11 hours, police said.
But he kept driving with his air bags deployed until police found him in the travel lane in the area of 12 River Road, just over the Haverhill line near the Rocks Village Bridge, police said. West Newbury police were first on the scene, followed by Haverhill officers.
Haverhill's internal investigation concluded that either Haverhill or West Newbury police could have charged Noyes with operating under the influence of alcohol, but that only Haverhill police could have arrested Noyes because his vehicle was stopped in Haverhill. West Newbury police could have summonsed him to court.
West Newbury police eventually filed charges in Newburyport District Court against Noyes for negligent driving and leaving the scene of an accident that caused property damage.
Last month, Newburyport District Court Judge Matthew Nestor resolved the criminal case by placing Noyes on unsupervised probation for six months after Noyes admitted there were sufficient facts to find him guilty. The criminal charges are to be dropped after that time if Noyes stays out of trouble. Noyes was also ordered to reimburse the utility company for the cost of the pole that was destroyed in the accident. The deal followed a closed-door hearing at which West Newbury police presented its case against Noyes to a court magistrate.
Worcester Assistant District Attorney Jon Hartmere, who prosecuted the driving charges against Noyes, said it was his opinion that West Newbury would have been the appropriate department to charge Noyes with drunken driving, according to Thompson's report.
In late April, the Essex District Attorney's Office transferred the case to the Worcester District Attorney's Office to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Three Haverhill officers were involved in the Noyes incident. Officer Christopher Pagliuca and Sgt. Harry Miller were on the scene. Lt. William Leeman was the supervisor in the police station.
Thompson's report details Noyes' efforts to mislead police as to who was the driver of his vehicle. "Although Sgt. Miller believed Mr. Noyes was intoxicated, he had concerns about proving that Noyes was the operator," Thompson's report said of the Haverhill sergeant who was on the scene.
At that point, Miller contacted Lt. Leeman at the Haverhill police station for guidance.
"Sgt. Miller again asked Mr. Noyes if he had been operating and again Mr. Noyes answered 'No,' " the report said. "When asked who was driving, Mr. Noyes did not reply. Sgt. Miller then instructed Officer Pagliuca to check the Escalade for keys and Pagliuca was unable to locate them."
Thompson's report went on to say that neither Pagliuca nor any other officer searched Noyes' vehicle as required by police policy and that "Haverhill officers failed to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the scene."
The report says Merrimac Patrolman Adam White told Thompson that Cena spoke to Noyes while he was still sitting in the driver's seat.
"Mr. Noyes stated (to Cena), 'You don't have operation; the keys are in the passenger's seat," the report said, inferring Noyes believed the officers had no legal evidence he was driving.
Thompson's report said that on May 23, three weeks after the incident, Haverhill officer Ed Watson checked with the company that towed Noyes' vehicle and was told the keys to the Escalade were found on the front seat.
"It must be noted that Haverhill officers did not conduct a proper search for the keys," Thompson wrote in his report. "Officer Pagliuca stated that he only shone his flashlight into the vehicle while the driver's door was open. Officer Pagliuca never entered the vehicle to check the console, compartments or any of the interior. It also appears that no Haverhill officer ever checked Mr. Noyes for the keys."
The report also faulted Leeman for not going to the scene.
"Options were available to obtain a clearer understanding of the situation, such as the lieutenant or a more experienced supervisor going to the scene," Thompson wrote in the report.
The report stressed not only the poor job that Haverhill officers did at the scene, but also many deficiencies in their incident report.
"The report leaves out so much pertinent information that a reader is unable to understand what the issues were at the scene," the internal investigation report said. "There is no mention of Mr. Noyes' perceived intoxication or any discussion regarding an OUI charge."
In a previous interview, Noyes' lawyer Randy Chapman pointed to the report written by the officers on the scene in arguing that his client was not driving while intoxicated.
Fiorentini said the Police Department's findings prove Haverhill takes "very seriously its obligation to provide equal justice under law to all of our citizens."
"Every citizen has the right to know that everyone who stopped is treated equally and all cases are investigated in handled in the same manner," the mayor said.
Copyright 2012 - The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
