By Douglas McCulloch
Hometown Weekly Staff
A suspect led Walpole police on a high-speed chase through multiple towns, including Walpole, Norwood, Westwood, Dedham, Needham and West Roxbury on April 27 before being arrested at an apartment building in West Roxbury.
The suspect, identified as 28-year-old Michael LeBlanc of Abington, faces a long list of charges, including attempted murder, failure to stop for a police officer, speeding, giving a false name, motor vehicle trespass, leaving the scene of property damage, marked lanes violations and more.
LeBlanc was arraigned in Wrentham District Court on April 28, and was ordered held without bail. A dangerousness hearing was scheduled for last Tuesday.
According to Walpole Deputy Police Chief Chris Mackenzie, the chase began with a report of a suspicious vehicle.
A Walpole Department of Public Works employee called police to report a suspicious vehicle at a dam at the end of Stone Street near the Walpole Country Club at approximately 10:19 a.m. on April 27.
Walpole police responded to the call, when officer Matt Crown observed LeBlanc’s vehicle parked at the dam. When Crown approached LeBlanc, the suspect jumped back into his car. Crown began speaking with LeBlanc, who originally provided a false name to police.
After realizing the name LeBlanc provided was false, officer Crown ordered the suspect out of the vehicle. According to Mackenzie, the suspect turned, looked at Crown, said “Sorry,” and drove off.
Crown was dragged 250 feet by the car after his arm became caught in the car window.
The pursuit began as Leblanc drove through the Walpole Country Club on the fairway and the country club parking lot, and pulled onto Baker Street traveling north.
Crown, aided by officer Beberman quickly recovered and joined the pursuit, with Crown driving and Beberman handling radio communication. After the suspect was lost cutting through the country club, the pair spotted LeBlanc’s car again on Washington Street.
From there, the chase continued onto Routes 27, 1A and 109 through Norwood, Westwood and West Roxbury.
In Norwood, a Norwood cruiser that was assisting the pursuit was involved in a motor vehicle accident, prompting Norwood police to cancel the pursuit. No injuries were reported, according to Mackenzie.
“That prompted Norwood to cancel any chase,” Mackenzie said. “There was no assistance coming from Norwood.”
After turning onto the VFW Parkway heading south from Route 109, LeBlanc entered Route 128 heading north, continuing until Exit 19 in Needham, After spinning out, Leblanc crossed the median and reversed direction onto Route 128 south, at which point police backed off from Leblanc.
“He was all by himself,” Mackenzie said. “There was no police near him, we had to stop chasing him.”
With a news chopper overhead relaying LeBlanc’s every move, police waited until word came in that LeBlanc had exited Route 128 onto Great Plain Avenue in Needham.
“There was definitely confusion as to which way he went after Great Plain Avenue,” Mackenzie said.
Police discovered LeBlanc’s vehicle abandoned and smoking in a parking lot off of Great Plain Avenue, and it wasn’t long before police set up a perimeter after learning that he had entered a nearby apartment building. Leblanc was taken into custody a short time later.
Mackenzie credited the work of all the Walpole police officers and officers from other towns and the State Police who were involved in the chase with bringing it to a safe conclusion, and especially credited officer Crown for getting right back into the chase even after sustaining injuries from being dragged prior to the start of the pursuit.
“In terms of our officers, they did a great job,” Mackenzie said. “The officer that was dragged was also the lead officer in the pursuit. Crown got into the chase, he stayed in it, and he did a great job. Beberman did the radio traffic, he stayed very calm throughout the entire event.”
Mackenzie noted that throughout the chase, police were constantly making judgment calls in the interest of public safety. From decisions on whether to continue or abandon the pursuit, to decisions about whether to use lethal force against Leblanc, Mackenzie credited his officers with excellent judgment.
“There are judgments you have to keep making, you’re making them at high speed, in the heat of the moment and with adrenaline pumping,” Mackenzie said. “In this case, everyone made great judgments.”
At one point during the pursuit, police officers approached Leblanc’s vehicle with guns drawn, but refrained from opening fire over fears that innocent bystanders could be injured.
“In our experience and training, we are taught to check our backgrounds,” Mackenzie ex-plained. “If we miss, what are we going to hit?”
