Wilmington's Daniel Sweet Honored By Wakefield Police

The Wakefield Police recognized a Wilmington resident on Friday for his help in catching a suspect who fled a traffic stop and briefly dragged an officer earlier in the week. Gregory Hampton Boyd, 20, was caught soon after and was booked on 16 different charges.

Wilmington's Daniel Sweet, 31, recalled how he was walking with his wife Sarah and their dog around Lake Quannapowitt on Tuesday evening when they heard the suspect's car come around a sharp turn on Main Street, minutes after seeing that same car get pulled over by Wakefield Police. When the car crashed into a stone wall around 158 Main Street, Sweet's first thought was that the driver needed help.

"I ran over thinking the guy's hurt, then he starts running," recalled Sweet, whose brother and cousin are both state troopers. "My brother and my family would have killed me if I didn't do anything," he  joked.

Also on hand were officers David Rando and Amy Toothaker. Rando had initially pulled the suspect's car over for excessively tinted windows and for after-market purple headlights. Toothaker arrived soon after to back him up.

The two reported that Boyd tried to swallow a small plastic bag containing a residue, and as they struggled with him, he drove off. Rando broke free while Toothaker was briefly dragged and later received treatment for minor injuries at a nearby hospital.

The suspect only made it a short distance down Main Street in Wakefield, crashing into a stone wall located on a sharp curve. Officers were on hand very shortly after.

It turns out that Sweet was also injured Tuesday - A cut on his leg that he thinks was caused by the damaged stone wall during his struggle with Boyd resulted in eight stitches, he reported, adding that a nearby resident had brought out a towel for him at the scene.

"Either one of these officers could have been very seriously hurt or killed,"  Wakefield Police Chief Richard Smith told Sweet. "We cannot thank you enough." Smith presented Sweet with a certificate and also awarded him the department's Challenge Coin.