This weekend the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy is expecting a large influx of religious pilgrims for the event known as Mercy Sunday.
The Stockbridge Police Department has partnered with multiple public safety organizations to help the Shrine have a safe and successful weekend.
There will be a large influx of traffic this weekend. We have assigned Stockbridge Police Officers and Deputies from our partners at the Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office to help the flow of traffic in the center of town.
Parking restrictions remain in effect for the weekend, and parking violations face being ticketed and/or towed. ...
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Our friends at the Stockbridge Water Department will be flushing the Town’s water system during normal business hours through the end of the month. Residents can expect low water pressure while the work is being done. ...
Congratulations Tooper Zucco, enjoy your well deserved retirement!A LONG AND DISTINGUISHED CAREER
Monday, August 24, 1970, was a mild, sunny day in Massachusetts. Nationally, the war in Vietnam was the overriding topic, and while President Nixon had begun withdrawing troops, more than 330,000 US military personnel remained “in country.” In New York, Arabs and Israelis were preparing for peace talks set to begin the next day at the United Nations. On Beacon Hill, Governor Sargent signed a bill providing increased protections for insurance customers, and the state Senate approved a new 40-hour work week for Massachusetts State Troopers, down from the 84-hour week that they worked under the soon-to-be eliminated live-in barracks system.
The Red Sox were off that Monday, traveling to Minnesota to open a series against the Twins the following night, with Yastrzemski expected to return to first base after a few days off. The Boston Patriots, led by quarterback Gino Cappelletti, were in the middle of training camp at UMass-Amherst.
Garber Travel was advertising a four-day Labor Day vacation to Bermuda for $202, Filene’s Basement was selling famous maker boys’ suits for $14.95, and Merchants Tire Co. (Boston, Everett, Lawrence, Natick and Quincy) was offering two whitewalls for $33. Movie theaters and drive-ins across Massachusetts were showing “The Out-of-Towners” with Jack Lemmon, “The Boston Strangler” with Tony Curtis, and “Beneath the Planet of the Apes.”
And on that day, Monday, August 24, 1970, Richard F. Zucco began his employment as a Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles Police Officer. For the next 22 years, Officer Zucco served honorably as part of the law enforcement agency that specialized in motor vehicle law and crash investigation.
In 1992, when the Registry Police, along with the Metropolitan District Commission Police and the Capital Police, were merged into the larger Massachusetts State Police, Richard Zucco became a State Trooper. He was assigned for several years to the State Police Academy as an instructor, and subsequently served in MSP Barracks in Lee and Westfield. Earlier this year, nearly 49 years after he first pinned on a badge, he was assigned to the MSP’s Troop B Community Action Team.
At 75 years old, Trooper Zucco is a wealth of history about Troop B, the Registry Police and MSP, and police work in general. Recently, Colonel Kerry Gilpin summoned Trooper Zucco to MSP General Headquarters in Framingham to present him with Badge Number 1, signifying his status as the most senior Trooper in the Department. As testimony to the immense regard in which his MSP brothers and sisters hold Trooper Zucco, numerous members of Troop B -- including Troop B commanding officer Major Michael Habel and executive officer Capt. James Penniman, and dozens of Lieutenants, Sergeants and Troopers – attended the presentation. Trooper Zucco’s wife, and his son and daughter, both of whom are local police officers, also were in attendance as Colonel Gilpin pinned Badge #1 on their husband and father.
Trooper Zucco has earned a reputation for fairness and compassion, and the stories of him helping disabled motorists get to their destination are the stuff of legend. Motorists truly had a friend watching out for them whenever he has patrolled his highways. So it was no surprise when, in brief remarks after the badge presentation, Trooper Zucco told the young Troopers gathered around him that their first priority is to help people, and urged them to always keep some of their own spare cash in the cruiser to help people in need whom they may encounter in the course of their duty. He talked about the holidays missed over all the years because he had to work, and said how his police officer son and daughter now understand why dad couldn’t be there with their family on those days.
In an era when law enforcement officers face great stress and daily dangers, and 25 years is considered a full and long career, Trooper Zucco’s nearly half-century of diligent and dedicated service is truly remarkable.
Alas, there comes a time for everyone, even the legends, and Trooper Zucco will retire later this month. We salute him, and thank him with all our hearts, for embodying all that is good about police work and the Massachusetts State Police – duty, honor, and compassion. Trooper Zucco, we wish you a long, happy, and healthy retirement. You have earned it. ...
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Thank you to the individual who paid for lunch for day shift today, a very nice gesture. ...
On Friday January 11, 2019 shortly before midnight, our department was dispatched to a two car motor vehicle accident on East St.
The Stockbridge Police Department would like to acknowledge the following agencies in their assistance with this horrific tragedy:
Stockbridge Fire Department,
Lee Police Department,
Lenox Police Department,
Lee Ambulance Department,
Lenox Ambulance Department,
County Ambulance,
Massachusetts State Police (which provided assistance with Patrol from B Troop, Accident Reconstruction, Crime Scene Services and Detectives assigned to the Berkshire Country District Attorney’s Office),
District Attorney Andrea Harrington and her Office,
The amazing medical professionals at Berkshire Medical Center.
We would max out the character limit for a Facebook post if we listed the individual accomplishments of each agency, so instead we just want the public to understand that each listed agency has helped our department in so many important ways. ...
