SPD announces abandoned search. Chief answers questions about staffing issues

The Southborough Police Department issued a press release on an incident yesterday evening. It involved a manhunt that was ultimately abandoned when officers had to respond to another emergency call.

I reached out to Police Chief Ryan Newell to discuss the situation. We discussed the context of his department’s staffing shortage and his request approve funding for more officers through the Town Meeting in less than a week.

According to the press release, a previously reported stolen vehicle was abandoned after it crashed into a pole on Framingham Road. Officers learned the “same vehicle” was reported as having been suspiciously spotted parked on Overlook Drive. The driver was described as wearing a black facemask and hoodie.

After initiating a search for the driver with support from neighboring towns, police had to leave the scene to handle “an active Domestic Disturbance”.

First, here is the full text of the release:

On Monday, 04/01/25 at approx. 1912 hrs, Southborough Police Officers responded to Framingham Road to investigate a report of a motor vehicle crash with a vehicle into a utility pole. Upon the officer’s arrival, the officers found an unoccupied motor vehicle with heavy front-end damage. After calling the registration into dispatch, it was determined that the MV was reported stolen out of Dudley, MA on March 30th. While on scene, a resident of Overlook Drive called to report a suspicious mv on Overlook Drive that was seen parked in the area. The operator was described as wearing a white hooded sweatshirt with a black face mask. The description given of the vehicle was the same vehicle that was involved in the crash on Framingham Road. A search of the area involved SPD Officers, a drone unit from Westborough PD, and a K-9 Officer from the Framingham PD. After a search of the area, the suspect was not located and Southborough Police had to clear the scene to respond to an active Domestic Disturbance in progress. The Southborough Detective Division is investigating the stolen motor vehicle and anyone with information regarding this incident is requested to contact our Detective Unit at (508) 485-2121. Thank you.

When I spoke with Chief Newell, he stated that he felt compelled to explain to the public why the search had to be abandoned.

I asked him about the impact that the SPD’s staffing had on the situation. He confirmed that the department is still short staffed compared to its currently approved staffing levels. (See more on that below.) But he didn’t feel confidence that if those positions were filled the search would have continued. He described domestic disturbance reports as the type of situation that requires multiple officers to initially respond, and can escalate to require pulling even more to the scene.

His answer was different when I asked if the Town had fully staffed the department to the level recommended in the recent Police Staffing study. Newell responded that he did believe the search would have continued if the department was staffed to the level he believes is appropriate for public safety in Southborough.

Part of Newell’s request is to create specialty positions/units. And he stressed that the SPD doesn’t have a fully dedicated Police Detective. (The current detective is required to split time with other duties.) He highlighted that the Detective isn’t able to spend enough time on investigations. That include reports of sexual assaults.

Newell confirmed that his department is still five officers people short for currently approved staffing. One position will soon be filled by an officer that has been appointed but has yet to start. The SPD also has out two conditional offers that he is hopeful will pan out. (Both of those would be “lateral transfers”, which means they wouldn’t need to go through the police academy before starting.)

The chief acknowledged that they have lost officers to other departments that pay more. Although we didn’t discuss it, that is something the Town hopes will be resolved by a renegotiated Collective Bargaining Agreement. That will require Town Meeting to approve funding any new CBAs “reached” between the Town and unions.

But the chief also highlighted that the limited number of positions causes another staffing challenge. He explained that when police work for larger Towns they know that they will have more support from other officers on the scene when they respond to incidents.

Newell also pointed to issues dealing with the most common complaint from residents — aggressive drivers and speeding on side roads, including roads where people walk and kids ride bikes. They have difficulty providing enough of a presence on those roads. He pointed out that they also have to deal with the crime and other issues related to vehicles on Route 9. He cited MassDOT (Dept of Transportation) as estimating 38,000 vehicles pass through Southborough daily on that highway alone.

Today’s press release isn’t the first time that Newell has pointed to overlapping emergency calls that strained department staffing.

In a February 25th meeting with the Select Board, Newell gave an example from earlier in the month. At the time, two officers and a trainee were the only ones on patrol. A tractor trailer crashed into the River Street bridge (again!) at the same time as another tractor trailer broke down on Southville Road in front of Cordaville Market (aka Fitzgeralds/Fitzies). While still dealing with those incidents, they received a 911 call from the Town Center Plaza at 162 Cordaville Road (Rte 85).

Southborough voters have historically been supportive of the SPD budget. But given the tax hike forecast this year, the budget is expected to be challenged and debated this year. The chief is working on a fact sheet on his staffing request to share with Town Meeting voters. 

You can read more about the police staffing situation and the budget request in my past coverage here (and my prior coverage of the staffing study results here). 

The police budget is just one of the items on the Warrant for Annual Town Meeting this Monday, April 7th. Read more about the meeting and Warrant Articles in my ongoing coverage here.