Granby Police, East Granby Troopers Honored for Exceptional Service

When awards were given for those state police troopers who have demonstrated exceptional service in the line of duty, several East Granby troopers were among the recipients.

Here are their stories:

Granby Officer Joe S. Adams

On Aug. 12, 2012, two Troop L trooper responded to a 911 call out of Barkhamsted. At the home, Trooper First Class Dominic Goguen, Trooper First Class  Shawn Higgins found the resident, an elderly man, had been beaten by the woman, who had broken into his home according to a press release from the State Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.

According to the release, the victim told the trooper that he recognized the woman as the driver whom he’d gotten into a car accident with the day before.

The victim said he tried to call 911 but the woman smashed his phone before stealing his wallet and other belongings and running out of the house.

With the help of Officer Adams, the two troopers determined that the woman was at a home in Granby. At the home, Adams and Higgins went around the back of the house and saw the woman fleeing. 

Goguen and his K-9 partner found the woman hiding nearby and arrested her.

The victim’s broken telephone, wallet and other items were found in the woman’s vehicle, the release said, and she was charged with several felony crimes.

Adams, Higgins and Goguen were all given a Medal for Meritorious Service.

East Granby Resident Trooper’s Office

The whole trooper’s office received a Unit Citation Award for their work in catching a man who robbed a bank on Hartford Avenue in Granby.

The robbery occurred Sept. 11 2012, just before noon, according to the release and police were searching for a masked suspect, last seen in a vehicle driving on Route 20 in East Granby. Police believed he might be armed, the release said. 

Troop H broadcast a “be on the lookout” notice to police in the area and to Bradley Airport staff while dispatchers shared information among the various troopers.

The vehicle was sighted on Old Road in East Granby and troopers and East Granby police officers headed to the area while Troop H dispatch continued to relay information on the vehicle’s location.

Police stopped at the end of Kripes and Nicholson Road in East Granby to intercept the vehicle and took two suspects into custody. One of the suspects had a monitoring bracelet on his ankle – a condition of parole of a previous bank robbery, the release said.

The pair also admitted to committing another bank robbery in Somers on Aug. 25, 2012.

Troop H and the East Granby Resident Trooper’s Office each earned a Unit Citation Award.

Medals and certificates were given out during the ceremony June 3 at the Connecticut State Police Training Academy by Commissioner Reuben F. Bradford and State Police Colonel Danny R. Stebbins.