QUINCY, MASS. (WHDH) - A trained police expert says negotiators went to great lengths to avoid conflict involving weapons during a tense standoff with an armed robbery suspect who allegedly stole a Rockland police cruiser on Friday morning before leading officers on a wild pursuit through multiple communities.
“Their goal is to gain compliance from them,” said David O’Laughlin, Director of Training at the Municipal Police Institute. “To communicate with him, try to get him to put that rifle down, and don’t get involved in gunplay.”
Eric Leach, 36, led officers on a pair of chases in the stolen cruiser before he was ultimately cornered near the BJ’s gas station on Burgin Parkway in Quincy.
After lengthy negotiations, Leach tried to get out of the cruiser with a patrol rifle in hand, prompting a state police STOP Team member to fatally shoot him.
O’Laughlin noted that negotiators likely urged Leach to follow their instructions to ensure the safety of everyone involved.
“Unfortunately, that was not the result. So, what you have here is officers working within the law, seeking to deescalate, and getting nothing in the way of compliance,” he explained. “Instead they were put into a position where they had no choice but to use deadly force.”
The officer-involved shooting remains under investigation.
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