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8-24-2025 10:37pm
Police Log: Unreliable Witnesses, Vandals Target Young Child, Drone Searches for Suspect
Darlene Cancell
Editor
The news described in this installment of Westwood Minute's weekly Police Log article series is primarily based on selected incidents from the Westwood Police Department's daily log, and information provided by Lieutenant Michael DiLalla and police staff to Westwood Minute through written records and conversations. Occasionally, Westwood Minute may weave a few facts that it obtains from other sources into these stories
Sunday, August 17th
Family Matters
1:39 p.m. An out-of-town resident sought police assistance in returning her elderly mother to her Westwood Glen apartment, from Florida where the complainant’s mother is living under the care of complainant’s niece. Complainant’s niece is granddaughter to the complainant’s mother, and complainant’s niece has power of attorney for complainant’s mother. The complainant’s mother is reportedly of sound mind and made a willing decision to move to Florida. Police have determined that complainant’s issues may be best settled in the civil courts.
Suspicious Behavior with a Golf Club
8:50 p.m. A caller reported that a man was yelling and waving a golf club on University Avenue. Police located the individual, a young adult male in his early 20s. Police spoke to the individual and sent him on his way.
Drone Search for Suspect
10:21 p.m. A Westwood Police officer responded to Coventry Lane in Norwood on the request for mutual aid by Norwood Police, who sought drone assistance in conducting a search for a suspect. At 11:15 p.m. a Norwood Police commander called off the search.
Found License Plate
11:20 p.m. A Dedham resident found a license plate on the ground of the Westwood Mobile gas station on High Street. Police notified the owner of the license plate, a resident of Canton. He told police he was not aware that it was no longer attached to the front of his vehicle. He noted that on Sunday, August 17th, he had driven in the Westwood area on Route 1, but said he had not been to the Mobile gas station on High Street.
Saturday, August 16th
Working on a Car at Midnight?
12:35 a.m. Police encountered a male party walking on High Street, and approached to ask why he was wearing gloves and walking with an open backpack at the early morning hour. The individual responded that he was wearing gloves because he was concerned about germs from a car that he had recently been working on.
Police Stop Fleeing Shoplifting Suspect
2:12 p.m. Police responded to the Target store on University Avenue where a shoplifting suspect was reported to have fled after being confronted by store staff. She was described as wearing a white tee shirt with a pink bra. Her vehicle was described as a black SUV that had been parked in a handicap parking space.
Upon arrival, police located a black, Chevy Equinox in the vicinity of a handicap space. Dispatch confirmed that it was the suspect’s vehicle. The Equinox failed to stop when police activated the cruiser’s lights. However, the suspect’s vehicle did stop when police sirens were activated.
Police spoke to the driver, who matched the suspect’s description. The suspect was uncooperative and told police she was not in the mood to deal with them. She did eventually exit the vehicle, and returned to the store to speak with police and staff.
Store video showed the suspect attempting to conceal merchandise. Being unable to, she instead placed the merchandise at the bottom of her shopping cart. While at the self-checkout register, she failed to scan items in the cart and failed to scan merchandise she had placed in her purse. The items were worth a total of $82. She was charged with one count of shoplifting.
Because the suspect was accompanied by her two children, police also filed a 51A report with the Department of Children and Families regarding abuse or neglect. The suspect is a resident of Hyde Park, in her 20s.
Friday, August 15th
Teen Reports Inappropriate Behavior by Delivery Driver
9:55 a.m. Police received a report of inappropriate behavior of a delivery driver toward a teenaged resident of Fox Meadow Road. The girl’s father reported that as she walked in the neighborhood, a man in a delivery vehicle remarked on her good looks and asked her to come to the passenger side door to speak with him. After the girl told the driver her age, he allegedly became more demanding with requests that she should approach the vehicle. The girl left, to report the incident to police.
Police responded to the area and stopped a vehicle matching the description. The driver told police that he had been making a DoorDash delivery to a nearby home. He confirmed speaking with the girl, but denied that he was rude or disrespectful. He told police that he stopped talking to her when he learned her age and that he drove away. He agreed he had made a poor decision and agreed to send police a detailed, written statement of what had occurred.
Vandal’s Mean Message Targets Young Child
10:14 a.m. An officer responded to a report of vandalism at the residence of a Westwood home where someone had written an expletive on the driveway, “F--- You,” which was immediately followed by the written name of an elementary-aged resident of the home. The mother of the named individual was not sure when the writing appeared, because it seemed to be made with black spray paint, which blended into the driveway’s asphalt. The mother told police that her family is new to the neighborhood and that her child attends a Westwood elementary school. The officer informed the mother that the school resource officer would be informed about the incident.
Contractor Owes Resident a Refund
12:40 p.m. A resident of Woodland Road reported fraud by a contractor to whom she had paid a deposit, with a $8,000 check, in April of 2024. The complainant told police that the contractor informed her that he was unable to perform the work, due to issues with his personal health and family. The resident had been trying to get her deposit back, or to get the work done.
Police contacted the contractor. He gave police the same reasons for not performing the work. He told police he would return the complainant’s money.
Stealing from the Public Library
1:06 p.m. A staff member of Westwood Public Library reported to police that someone had stolen a step stool, valued at $50, that is used by children to reach the book return slot in the library's enclosed entry. Surveillance video showed that on August 15th, at 3:41 p.m., a man exited a vehicle, took the step stool, returned to his vehicle, and departed.
Police were able to track the vehicle by its Massachusetts license plate to a business that is the registered owner. A business representative informed police that there must be a mistake in the reading of the license plate, and claimed that the company’s vehicle had been in a different location. Police suspect this statement is not accurate and are investigating further.
Thursday, August 14th
Police Discover 3 Warrants for Arrest of Shoplifting Suspect
7:38 p.m. Staff at the Target store on University Avenue observed a pair of females inside the store, who were known to the staff as shoplifters. At the self-checkout, they witnessed one female scan several items, but miss scanning a sweatshirt. A responding Westwood Police officer stopped the suspect as she attempted to exit. The suspect claimed to have forgotten to scan the sweatshirt. The item was valued at $35.
Police arrested the suspect, woman in her early 30s from Norwood, for shoplifting. They discovered that she had three warrants for her arrest from Stoughton, Wrentham, and West Roxbury district courts. Bail was set at $2,000.
The second suspect claimed not to have stolen anything. She was sent on her way.
Suspicious of the Eversource Employee
9:15 p.m. Police responded to suspicious behavior on Gay Street, where a homeowner reported that a man was trying to get the resident to open the door. Police investigated and learned the man was an Eversource employee conducting business.
Strong Feelings about a Phone
9:49 p.m. Police responded to a business on University Avenue on the report of an employee who witnessed a male and female appearing to fight in the parking lot. Upon arriving at the scene, police learned that the man and his 13- year-old daughter had been verbally arguing in their vehicle and that the teenager had thrown her shoes at him while he was driving. The child apparently was angered when her parents asked to take possession of her phone. The father had pulled over so that he and his wife could deal with the family dispute.
Tuesday, August 12th
Fraudulent ATM Withdrawals
1:26 p.m. A resident of Cedar Hill Drive reported fraud on his bank account, after several ATM withdrawals totaling about $3,000 were made by an unknown person. Each withdrawal was made in $400 to $500 amounts. The resident also discovered that an unfamiliar Philadelphia, PA address had been added to his account. He believes his bank account information was obtained through Lyft transactions. He has changed his password and is reporting the incident to the credit reporting bureaus.
Video Contradicts Witness Statements in Alleged Hit-and-Run
5:25 p.m. Police responded to a reported hit-and-run at the intersection of University Avenue and Harvard Street, from which the operator of a motorcycle received significant injuries to his right arm and leg. The biker’s motorcycle was also damaged on its right side. The biker, a 45-year-old man from Weymouth, informed police that a Ford F-150 pickup truck had cut in front of him as he travelled straight on University Avenue. The biker told police that the pickup hit him, but the driver did not stop and continued on. The biker was transported by Westwood Fire paramedics to Beth Isreal Deaconess Hospital in Boston.
A witness claimed to have seen the entire incident. She told police that she was traveling straight on University Avenue from the opposite direction, and saw the F-150 pickup truck switch lanes and crash into the motorcycle. She told police that the pickup truck driver continued driving and did not stop.
Police reviewed video of the incident and determined that the pickup truck never came into contact with the motorcycle. While the pickup truck made a lane change, which police describe as appropriate, police also observed the motorcycling speeding, clearly faster than the 30 m.p.h. speed limit. It appeared to police that the biker, realizing he could not stop in time to avoid a collision with the pickup, deliberately dumped his motorcycle to avoid the crash, causing him to fall to the ground and sustain injuries.
No charges were filed.
Thanks to Lieutenant Michael DiLalla and the Westwood Police Department for contributing information for this Westwood Minute article.
