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Date: 4/25/2023
SPRINGFIELD — Following an investigation conducted by his office, Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni declared a February police-involved shooting in Springfield that resulted in the death of Connecticut resident William Tisdol was justified. Gulluni said in announcement on April 14 that the actions of State Troopers Thomas Cusack and Gregory Santos “comport” with state laws and policies of the Massachusetts State Police.
Gulluni said, “Mr. Tisdol’s actions dictated the course of events and the reasonable and necessary use of lethal force by the troopers. There is clear and copious evidence that Mr. Tisdol accessed, pointed and fired his gun at troopers.”
He continued, “The entirety of the amassed, uncontroverted evidence all stand clearly in agreement that the use of force by the troopers was an unavoidable last resort, to which they arrived after issuing numerous verbal commands and then were fired upon by Mr. Tisdol. Their actions comport with the policies of the Massachusetts State Police and with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”
On Feb. 25 at 2:20 a.m., members of the Massachusetts State Police Gaming Enforcement Unit and members of the Springfield Police Department in the Gaming Enforcement Unit, responded to a report of a confrontation involving Tisdol inside MGM Springfield.
“During that confrontation, Mr. Tisdol reportedly threatened to shoot the party with which he had a confrontation with at a gaming table,” said Gulluni’s office in a written statement.
As Tisdol left the casino, MGM security was able to determine his location and report to officers that he was heading south in the direction of Main and Union streets.
“When approached by officers on Union Street, Mr. Tisdol attempted to elude officers. During the encounter, Mr. Tisdol did not comply with the troopers’ legally valid attempts to stop him. Instead, Mr. Tisdol fled while keeping his hand in his right jacket pocket while troopers issued commands for him to remove his hands,” Gulluni’s office said.
The statement continued, “A Springfield Police officer attempted to stop Mr. Tisdol by tackling him, however, Mr. Tisdol evaded this officer and continued to flee while keeping [his] hand in his right pocket. Troopers continued to issue commands while following the subject. When a trooper announced the use of his taser, Mr. Tisdol turned towards the trooper and discharged his firearm on the trooper armed with only a taser. Both troopers returned fire at Mr. Tisdol.”
Tisdol was brought to Baystate Medical Center where he was later declared deceased. An autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that Tisdol’s cause of death was from a projectile that entered his right upper chest area.
Based on the Massachusetts state law, the district attorney is responsible for investigating all cases involving deaths by unnatural causes. As police use of force was also present in this case, in which it led to someone’s death, the district attorney must determine if the actions were appropriate and lawful.
“[Gulluni] employs national best practices in these situations that are designed to ensure communication with a decedent’s family and community leaders while the investigation continues, conduct an objective and thorough investigation and reveal to the public all evidence, clear findings of fact, and conclusions that apply the law,” Gulluni’s office said.
“This investigation into the death of Mr. William Tisdol has followed this same protocol and concludes that the troopers acted in the lawful exercise of their duties and used only necessary and reasonable force in both self-defense and defense of others,” they added.
Gulluni created a final report with all the evidence reviewed in the investigation. In the report, he noted that the entirety of the contact between Tisdol and the Massachusetts State Police troopers was captured by body-worn cameras as well as footage recovered from the city’s cameras on/in the area of Union and Main streets.
Further investigation revealed that Tisdol had an active warrant for his arrest in New York for firearms charges. “While this detail was unknown to the troopers at the time of the shooting, it may explain why Mr. Tisdol made such extraordinary and violent efforts to avoid being identified and apprehended by law enforcement,” the report read.
The State Police Association of Massachusetts also issued a statement regarding Gulluni’s investigation. Association President Patrick McNamara said, “As we stated on the morning of this incident, we were confident that any investigation would result in the determination that our troopers acted courageously while under gunfire.”
He went on to say, “Any time we must discharge our firearms it is a tragedy. We are thankful that no troopers or members of the public were hurt.”
As the troopers were faced with an armed suspect who fired numerous rounds in their direction, McNamara said the troopers, “under threat to their own lives, responded exactly how they are trained to.”
“The response by these members is a clear demonstration of the continuous professionalism exhibited by the membership of the State Police Association of Massachusetts,” he concluded.