Fleeing Assault Suspect Dives Into River, Pulled to Shore In Enfield

ENFIELD, CT — Authorities in Enfield Sunday pulled a man to the banks of the Connecticut River after he dove into the water while fleeing a domestic violence incident. The cops then arrested two curious onlookers for drug possession, according to an. incident report.

At 5:51 p.m. the Enfield Police Department received a report of a family violence incident that occurred at a residence on Poplar Street, according to an incident report. The callers told dispatchers that the aggressor had fled the area on foot with his dog, police said.

Two Enfield police canine teams were deployed in the area and began to track the suspect's scent through the adjacent neighborhoods, according to an incident report. The track, police said, led to a wooded area west of Gordon Avenue where the police dogs encountered the man's dog, which was loose, authorities said. The dog was unhurt and, after being corralled, was returned to the man's family, police said.

Meanwhile, officers heard the man moving through some brush along the eastern bank of the Connecticut River and then saw him sliding down the bank into the river, according to an incident report. Officers called out to the man, but he refused to to return to shore while threatening to harm himself, according to an incident report. He was then pushed south by the current, police said.

The canine teams ran along the riverbank to maintain visual contact with the man while firefighters and police deployed a boat in an effort to intercept him, according to an incident report. Despite being in the middle of the river and having drifted approximately 1.2 miles, the man refused assistance to exit the water and continued making "suicidal" statements, police said.

Realizing that the man was starting to get fatigued after being in the water for more than 30 minutes, authorities were able to maneuver the boat in front of him, restrain him by two limbs and "safely" drive him to the shore with him struggling the entire way, according to an incident report.

The man was taken to an area hospital for evaluation and was later charged with third-degree assault, second-degree breach of peace and interfering with police. He was being held on a $50,000 bond Monday morning, police said.

Two curious local residents who had driven to the scene after following the river incident on a police scanner were then arrested on narcotics-related charges, according to an incident report.

Police said that, while they were in the process of "securing" the domestic violence suspect, a vehicle being driven by 56-year-old Eileen MacDonald drove to the scene and an officer, who happened to be a canine narcotics handler, recognized her and went to the car, only to notice drug paraphernalia in plain view inside the vehicle, according to an incident report.

The officer directed MacDonald, and her passenger, 41-year-old Christina Cooley, to exit the vehicle and officers then recovered the drug accessories, but 36.5 grams of Fentanyl, 14.41 grams of crack cocaine, 25 packets of Suboxone, and more than $200 U.S. currency in small denominations as well, according to an incident report.

MacDonald and Cooley were both placed under arrest and changed with possession of narcotics with the intent to sell and were being held on a separate $100,000 bonds, police said.