From left: Lt. William Carlo, Michael Koechlin, Lowell Firefighter Aaron Patterson, Sgt. Stephen Fredericks, Joe Weiler, Chelmsford Firefighter Ken Labrecque, Clinician Rachel Beers, and Officer Kaleigh Marshall. (Courtesy Chelmsford Police Department)
CHELMSFORD – Police Chief Colin Spence is pleased to report that the Chelmsford Police Department held a ceremony to recognize officers and staff for extraordinary work over the past year.
The ceremony was held on Wednesday April 10 at the Princeton Station in Chelmsford.
Recognized during the ceremony were:
Officer Christopher Robinson – Meritorious Service Award for Lifesaving
Officer Robinson, a four-year veteran of the department, responded to a call reporting a man choking. Officer Robinson performed two abdominal thrusts and other lifesaving efforts in order to dislodge the item the man was choking on, saving his life.
Sgt. Matthew Fernald and Officers Matthew Kilmartin, Craig Mead, Derek Tyros and Nicholas Thayer — Meritorious Service Award for Lifesaving
The officers involved in this call responded to a report of an unresponsive man at a local gym and found that man experiencing cardiac arrest. The officers worked together to perform CPR, deploy an automatic external defibrillator, and inserted an airway into the patient, taking measures to save the patient’s life before EMS arrived.
Officer Kevin Quinn and retired Officer Tony Spinazola — Meritorious Service Award for Lifesaving
Officers Quinn and Spinazola responded to a report of an individual having a heart attack in a motor vehicle and upon arrival found an individual suffering from cardiac arrest. The officers immediately removed the individual from his vehicle, performed CPR and administered three shocks from an automatic external defibrillator. The individual soon regained a pulse and was transferred to the care of EMS.
Detective Jeffrey Blodgett — Meritorious Service Award for Outstanding Performance of Duty
Detective Blodgett is a 30-year veteran of the Chelmsford Police Department who has spent 23 years working as a detective. His personnel file includes six meritorious service awards, and also contains numerous letters from crime victims, victim’s families and members of the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office.
Words such as professional, caring, calming, kindness, understanding, committed, skilled, compassionate and enthusiastic appear throughout the letters. Detective Blodgett was presented this award in recognition of his outstanding performance of duty over the years.
Lt. William Carlo, Sgt. Robert Brown, Officer Kaleigh Marshall, Clinician Rachel Beers, Chelmsford Firefighter Ken Labrecque, Lowell Firefighter Aaron Patterson, Joe Weiler, Michael Koechlin, and Maya Dube — Meritorious Service Award for Lifesaving
On July 8, 2023, those who received this award were hiking together when Sgt. Stephen Fredericks suffered a serious medical emergency while in a remote location approximately five miles from the nearest road in New Hampshire.
From left: Officer Craig Mead, Officer Christopher Robinson, Officer Nicholas Thayer, Lt. William Carlo, Officer Matthew Kilmartin, Sgt. Matthew Fernald, Officer Derek Tyros, Detective Jeffrey Blodgett and Officer Kaleigh Marshall during the awards ceremony. (Courtesy Chelmsford Police Department)
The group called for a New Hampshire Army National Guard helicopter for assistance and made a makeshift device to carry Sgt. Fredericks to the summit of the mountain they were on.
It was ultimately too dangerous for the helicopter to land at the summit, so those who were on the trip made a makeshift shelter on the mountain and called for assistance from the Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue Team.
Members of the hiking group and rescue team then teamed up to carry Sgt. Fredericks off the mountain, an effort that took about six hours.
“The invaluable contribution of the trained rescuers and the team work of the group of hikers that are before you today ensured a positive outcome during the 12-hour rescue,” said Chief Spence.
Ultimately, Sgt. Fredericks made a full recovery and returned to duty.
