SPRINGFIELD — The actions of a Springfield police captain are under scrutiny after he reportedly drew his weapon this weekend in a parking lot dispute with a civilian in the Boston Road Walmart.
Capt. Richard Labelle is the subject of an investigation by the department’s Major Crimes Unit for the the Saturday night incident, said Springfield Police spokesman Ryan Walsh.
“We are aware of the incident and it is being investigated,” Walsh said.
Detectives are trying to talk to witnesses and review video taken at the scene, he said.
Acting Commissioner Cheryl C. Clapprood will not publicly address the incident until Major Crimes Unit wraps up its investigation, Walsh added.
The incident is reportedly captured on video from security cameras at Walmart, and on cellphone used by a spectator.
While the video clearly shows LaBelle drawing his weapon, the circumstances leading up to that point remain murky, according to a police official involved in the investigation.
As best investigators can tell, the altercation in the parking lot was the result of a road rage. Labelle apparently cut someone off in traffic, and the other driver took exception to it.
The other driver is said to have confronted Labelle in the parking lot, words were exchanged, and at some point, the captain drew his weapon.
It is not clear at this point if a crime was committed, the police official said. To be determined is if Labelle felt threatened in the confrontation and needed to draw his firearm in self-defense.
At some point, the investigation will have to be brought to Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni for review and a determination made on how to proceed.
In 2002, Labelle was involved in a Westfield crash in which two children in another car were killed. A jury acquitted him of vehicular homicide, but convicted him of reckless operation of a motor vehicle. He was given two years probation.
Labelle is a 22-year veteran of the department, and a second-generation member of the department. His father, Richard Labelle, was himself a long-time officer and supervisor.
He was promoted to the rank of captain in August, 2017 after having been a lieutenant for a little over three years.
The incident is potentially the latest in a series of bad press for the department.
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The officers are the first to be arraigned after the Office of Attorney General Maura Healey indicted 16 people on charges linked to the alleged 2015 attack.
Thirteen current and former police officers were recently indicted for either taking part or attempting to cover up a 2015 beating of a man outside Nathan Bill’s Bar and Restaurant.
Another officer, Gregg Bigda is suspended while he and former officer Stephen Vigneault are under federal indictment for use of excessive force, conducting an abuse interrogation, and falsifying reports following the arrest of a juvenile accused of stealing an undercover police car in 2016.
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Springfield Police Officer Gregg Bigda and former detective Steven Vigneault were arrested at their homes by federal agents early this morning.
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