Cop Talk: Chief O'Loughlin On Unsolved Crime, Race Relations

MILFORD, MA—Milford Patch asked Police Chief Thomas O'Loughlin some questions we think our readers would like to ask him themselves. Here, he shares his thoughts on crime statistics, race relations, unsolved mysteries, where speeders get caught the most and more.

Milford Patch: What is the biggest, or most pressing, crime or issue that concerns the police department in Milford?

Chief O'Loughlin: The most concerning policing and social issue confronting this community and communities throughout this State and the Nation is the opioid crisis. Milford experienced 104 overdoses and 9 deaths in 2017, which equates to an 11.5 percent increase in overdoses and a 40 percent decrease in deaths as compared to 2016. Most of the decrease in deaths is related to the use of Narcan by police, fire and EMS personnel.

The Milford Police Department has focused a significant portion of our investigative and patrol resources in enforcing the laws related to the distribution and trafficking of narcotics. We have also partnered with Amy Leone and Community Impact to assist those who are addicted and their families in finding rehabilitation and other social services.

Additionally, it is important to note that the Milford Police Department was the 5th police department in Massachusetts to provide Narcan to all of our officers so that they can render life-saving measures in the event of an overdose. In fact, every police cruiser has two doses of Narcan available to the officers.

The opioid crisis is a significant public safety and public health issue because of the significant adverse impact that it has on individuals who are addicted, their families and the community at large. A very large portion of crimes involving breaking and entering into homes and vehicles, theft of property and shoplifting is related to individuals who are addicted to drugs and are in need of funds to purchase the drugs. We believe that if we help these individuals resolve their addiction, we are also helping their extended family and the community at large.

MP: Where do drivers get nabbed the most for speeding in Milford?

CO: I don’t know that there is a single location because we deploy officers on directed patrols in response to the concerns expressed by residents of the community, so there is no set location that officers typically enforce speeding laws. When we receive a complaint of speeding vehicles, generally we will place a speed monitoring device in the area for approximately a week. We then analyze the data which tells us the number of vehicles that travelled on the roadway, the time of day, the speed of the vehicles and the overall averages of speed. We then deploy officers to those locations during those time periods in which speeding violations were noted by the speed monitoring device.

MP: Your most memorable case in your career, and also as Milford chief?

CO: I have served as a police officer for 40 years in Massachusetts and as a chief of police for 32 years. I have been the Milford Chief for 16 years. Honestly, I have dealt with so many events, both tragic and happy, that I wouldn’t want to cite a specific event and minimize the impact and effects that others experienced during these events.

MP: The subject of race relations, racial profiling and police brutality is obviously an extremely hot button topic these days. Have you had to address this issue with any of your officers/department? Are there changing concerns in this area?

CO: I am both proud and pleased to say that the officers of the Milford Police Department have an exceptional relationship with every segment of the Milford community regardless of race, ethnicity, religious beliefs or sexual orientation. I believe that our efforts to engage and work with the people, faith organizations and social service organizations in Milford has been instrumental in ensuring that the issues that we have all seen elsewhere in the country are not and will not occur in this community.

MP: Are there any unsolved mysteries in Milford? What are they?

CO: The officers of the Milford Police Department and the State Police assigned to the Office of District Attorney Joseph Early work tirelessly on homicide investigations to bring justice to the victims and their loved ones. As an example, we continue to work on a so-called “cold case” involving a murder involving people from Milford that occurred in a neighboring community more than 40 years ago.

Additionally, we have a case where a gentleman left from a hotel on Beaver Street near Route 109 and he has been missing since. The Milford Police Department, the Metro Regional LEC Team and the State Police helicopter have conducted wide-scale searches of the wooded areas on Route 109 and Bear Hill side of town without success so we will continue with search efforts as the weather permits.

MP: What was a national case that was most compelling to you?

CO: In my capacity as a police chief and an attorney, over the years there have been a number of cases that have piqued my attention and intrigue to include the O.J. Simpson murder trial; the Chuck Stuart case in Boston; all of the affairs associated with Whitey Bulger and being a New England Patriots fan, the most recent trials of Aaron Hernandez.

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