Law and Order

Man Who Killed Waltham Police Officer And National Grid Worker With Truck Was Previously Charged With Ramming Vehicle Into Public Transportation Bus While Fleeing Police

 

Last night a Waltham Police Officer and a National grid worker were killed by a man with a long history of mental health issues and car violence. Officer Paul Tracey, 58, and Roderick Jackson, 36 of Cambridge, were struck and killed by Peter Simon of Woodsville, New Hampshire, while working a detail in Waltham.

Simon struck a vehicle with his truck, then attempted to flea the scene by driving a quarter mile down the road where he struck Jackson, Tracey, and two other National Grid workers. He abandoned his truck, and when he was approached by a Waltham Police Officer he stole his cruiser at knifepoint before crashing it and being taken into custody.

Today Simon was arraigned in Waltham District Court, but was only charged with two counts of manslaughter and armed robbery.

There was talk of more charges, but none of them included murder. Apparently that only happens when a corrupt DA uses it as a tactic to get an innocent woman to plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Several Waltham Police Officers and National Grid employees packed the courtroom for the hearing – something that often happens when police realize that the right person is being charged with killing a cop.

Unfortunately this incident was tragically predictable, and is the direct result of the failure of our criminal justice system to imprison people who pose legitimate threats to our society. In 2011 Peter Simon was sentenced to five years in a New Hampshire mental hospital after he fled from police in his vehicle and crashed head on into a public transportation bus in Keene. He plead not guilty by reason of insanity, and was found to have dissociative disorder with a history of panic attacks.

“Simon led police on a wild chase south on Route 12, onto Route 9/101, into the Monadnock Marketplace and back onto Route 9/101, traveling west before colliding with the bus. Both Simon and the driver of the bus received minor injuries in the crash. A passenger in the bus sustained serious injuries and was airlifted to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon.”

Simon said he was sorry and didn’t want it to happen again. The judge apparently bought it.

“He feels very badly about the injured person,” said Hulser. “He honestly and seriously does not want this to happen again. I believe him, the doctor believed him and the judge believed him.”

After five years a Judge would reevaluate whether or not it was safe to release Simon into civilized society:

“Because he was sentenced to a psychiatric facility, he is not eligible for time already served, said Heed. If he ends up serving the entire five years in state custody, he will be granted another hearing, at which time a judge will rule on whether he should be released or if he should remain in the hospital.”

Evidently the homeless vagrant convinced some hack judge that he was not a dangerous person, got out, and at some point ended up in Waltham.

Officer Tracey had the misfortune of crossing paths with this dangerous individual last night. Prior to that he had served honorably on the Waltham Police Department for 28 years, and has twice been recognized for his life saving efforts:

In 2018, while vacationing with family at Riviera Beach Resort in South Yarmouth, the off-duty officer saved the life of a drug overdose victim by administering CPR.

“He saved her life, no question,” said a Yarmouth Fire Department captain at the time.

Last November, Officer Tracey was one of several Waltham officers who responded to a tragic Brandeis bus crash that killed one undergraduate and injured dozens. 

He and his colleagues received Lifesaving Medals from the Massachusetts Police Association a few months ago.

He leaves behind a school resource officer wife and two children, as well as brothers and sisters who were in court today.

Officer Tracey was once on Family Feud where he won Fast Money with Steve Harvey. 

Roderick Jackson was a 6′ 6″ basketball player who starred at Cambridge Rindge and Latin before playing at Framingham State. In 2009 he was the team’s second leading scorer and rebounder, averaging more than 14 points per game.

Both men lost their lives on a normal Wednesday night when they thought they were just doing their routine jobs. Our criminal justice system failed them, as it has done to so many people before them. The system cracks down on innocent, nonviolent people by charging them with felonies, while letting dangerous, mentally unstable people like Peter Simon roam free.

 

 

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29 Comments

  1. Sad!!!
    And the below says it all……….Morrissey belongs behind bars with this piece of shit!!

    There was talk of more charges, but none of them included murder. Apparently that only happens when a corrupt DA uses it as a tactic to get an innocent woman to plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

    1. The officer didn’t have his gun out. They responded to a car accident.
      They didn’t know this man was committing 2 murders at the time.

  2. Manslaughter. We need to rein in mental illness and build more looney bins. No more drowning babies, striking cops and national grid workers, or shooting up malls. Make them like jails. Round them up.

    1. Loony bins. You seriously just commented that wow!! God works in mysterious ways so that comment might just affect you or your family. I pray not but……

  3. Damn that dude looks grisly. The problem with crazy people here in mass is that there is no place to put them. There are no state hospitals anymore so they eventually just end up on the street again. He should not have had access to a vehicle to drive if he was known to panic and flee police on long chases. So many people have failed this guy but still what he did was beyond wild and reckless. Good people lost their lives and he must pay the price.

    1. People drive without a license everyday. Just like people acquire guns without a license. Criminals violate the law.

  4. Why did he still have a license? When will the mental health hospitals be rebuilt so that these people are safely kept away, both for themselves and their potential victims. Why are we expecting cops to be social workers and therapists.

    1. I think given the qualified immunity these LEO get we should absolutely expect more from them in terms of better more thorough training in deesculation tactics. Honestly, what happened was a tragedy that absolutely should never have happened. Given the mans history they could of chose to not pursue in a vehicle chase and considering all police vehicles are equipped with gps tracking they could of chosen to apprehend the criminal in a different mamner given his history of vehicle chades and endahering the public. Think of how different this could of been had they chosen to not pursue in a dangerous car chase and instead track the vehicle and apprehend him when he stopped driving a deadly weapon.

      1. The manslaughter acts were done using his pickup truck. Not in the police car. In case there was some confusion. He was out of the car. Then waited for the opportunity and took the cruiser as there were multiple police on scene.

  5. Criminals in MA are truly living their best lives, while our corrupt courts do nothing.
    Gluttons. Greedy. Evil.
    There is no justice, there is no peace.

  6. How do you carjack a police cruiser with a knife from a cop with a gun? My guess is the cop felt restrained becaise he’s been trained only to shoot as a last resort. In a sane world this scumbag would be taking a dirt nap.
    Rest in peace Officer Tracey and Mr Jackson.

  7. Political Correctness is to blame. We can’t call crazy people crazy, let alone admit they can’t be among the public because it could hurt their feelings. We keep changing our language because of the feelings of the Left. They’ve been ruining this country for decades and will continue to destroy it until there’s nothing left.

  8. So sad for the families of these victims who were simply making a living. One of the biggest problems is States have moved financial resources away from mental healthcare and placed it in the hands of the “we have to cure the junkies” mindset. Those truly suffering from mental illness and needing help cannot get it because most mental health facilities are occupied by the junkies. If someone gets addicted because of a physical disability and needs help getting off painkillers, that’s one thing. But if someone makes the decision to continue on painkillers AFTER the physical pain is over, that’s by CHOICE. I had a family member in need of a stay at the loony bin, seriously, she was nuts; there was no place for her. No beds, no loony bin, 6-8 month wait list for mental health care. Take the junkie funding and put it back to true mental health care. Yes, I know- some become junkies because of their mental health. If their head was shrunk in the first place, they wouldn’t be junkies. Bring back the true loony bins and properly staff. And don’t use them to dry out junkies, use them for real issues that can be addressed.

    1. do you know how much the state and the city of Boston have squandered on people who refused the shot and also protested against it?
      2.5 years later, the court cases drag on. They were standing up for their human and civil rights.
      If only nitwits would stop voting commie.

  9. This soft on crime bullshit needs to end, stop catering to criminals.
    They use the mental illness defense like a crutch against the system.
    It may be time to rethink opening state mental hospitals where if you’re not managing meds or a threat then you are a long term resident.
    as well as handing down stiffer sentences for crimes .
    The mentality is that either they will never see jail time or get a light sentence emboldens them to continue to make poor decisions that cost lives of friends and loved ones .
    Coddle culture needs to stop!
    It’s already gone too far.
    I was raised with the mentality,
    to think of the consequences of your actions before acting and if you fucked up.. own it !! with every ounce of integrity you have .
    Leftist policies like bail reform have all but destroyed New York justice system .
    It allows criminals to not even get arrested for crimes, simply receive an appearance tickets and be on their way to commit more crimes.
    One example is a woman who had over 19 such cases in a one month period and has yet to appear in court for any of them and is still on a mission to break her prior record.
    The police don’t bother investigating half the calls as they see it a waste of time and energy.
    Take away the thought of spending the weekend in jail, or 10-20 or life for crimes , the lawlessness will reach a point where law abiding citizens will begin to take action and it will be like the Wild West again.
    The Read case has opened the eyes of many that your life may be busy and you may have a lot on your plate.
    But make time and stay involved with your local government.
    simply because government can’t be trusted to regulate themselves.

  10. At the risk of Monday morning Quarterbacking…This was a situation where Cops should double down on use of force as soon as the knife was brandished….. (ie shoot to Stop the threat. ) … because this will be another Massachusettes court system doing a tap dance, sympathizing with someone who is clearly not fit to be in public,…(just like the shit bird who murdered Weymouth Officer Michael Chesna). This guy will go through the revolving door of mental health treatment, and get released in a few years; or maybe less because he’s ,
    ” rehabilitated “, and of course, will never do it again. Are they going at least up charge him to second degree murder from manslaughter?? He did a u turn in the middle of the road and drove deliberately into the construction site!!……. .Rip… to the Officer and National Grid Worker. Deepest condolences to the families. They are the victims here. God bless you 🙏 ❤️

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