Foot chase after suspect in Northfield leads to injured officer, civilian aid

NORTHFIELD — A man with an outstanding warrant fled police twice Friday, causing an officer to be injured before finally being apprehended with civilian assistance.

Christopher Sheperd, 23, was charged with resisting arrest, intimidation of a witness, malicious destruction of property, escape and providing false identification information to police.

He was apprehended around 9 p.m. Friday after escaping the Northfield Police Station on the lower level of Town Hall — in handcuffs — and leading officers on a foot chase, according to Northfield Police Chief Robert Leighton.

Friday’s incidents started around 3:30 p.m., when a Northfield police officer on patrol spotted a man who matched the description of Sheperd, who was wanted on a warrant.

The officer stopped the man, who provided identification information the officer believed to be false, Leighton said. The man, identified as Shepherd, then fled on foot toward a busy Main Street, where the pursuing officer and an off-duty Leyden police officer subdued Sheperd.

The Northfield officer was injured while apprehending Sheperd and was taken to Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield. Information about the officer’s injuries has not been released.

While at the Northfield Police Station and being booked, Sheperd “fled the room” in handcuffs, making his way out of the building and starting a second pursuit, Leighton said.

Leighton said Northfield Police called for assistance from the Massachusetts State Police, as well as local police departments, including Erving, Gill, Greenfield, Warwick and Wendell.

Particularly helpful, Leighton said, was the usage of a “reverse 911 call,” which allowed police to contact “every registered number in Northfield” and provide a description of Sheperd.

Around 9 p.m., civilians at the Northfield Golf Club saw a man in handcuffs emerge from the woods, and were able to detain the man, Sheperd, and call the police. Sheperd, for a second time, was arrested, and is expected to be arraigned Monday.

Reach David McLellan at dmclellan@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 268.