Suffield WPCA Head Placed on Leave After Domestic Violence Arrest

SUFFIELD, CT — The superintendent of the Suffield Water Pollution Control Authority has been placed on paid administrative leave following his arrest Thursday on domestic violence charges in Massachusetts.

At an emergency meeting of the Board of Selectmen and WPCA Thursday evening, a unanimous vote placed Shane McCannon on leave pending investigation, effective immediately. He had been arrested earlier in the day by police in Springfield, Mass., after authorities in Ludlow, Mass. had notified Suffield police of a pending warrant against him.

Ludlow Police Sgt. Daniel Valadas said officers in his town were dispatched to a home at 6:41 a.m. Thursday by a 911 call from a 36-year-old woman saying McCannon had assaulted her.

An investigation prompted Ludlow police to apply for an arrest warrant charging McCannon with strangulation/suffocation - a felony - as well as assault and battery on a family/household member and larceny under $250, Valadas said.

McCannon allegedly stole the woman's camera as he left the residence, accounting for the larceny charge, Valadas said.

Suffield Capt. Christopher McKee said his department was contacted Thursday by Ludlow police concerning the warrant, and surveillance was set up in the area of the water pollution control authority. At one point, McCannon was observed leaving in his vehicle, and Suffield police maintained surveillance until he entered Massachusetts, where he was stopped on Sumner Avenue in Springfield and taken into custody by police from that city.

McCannon, 39, who has addresses in both Ludlow and Monson, Mass., was held overnight at the Hampden County House of Correction in lieu of $5,040 surety bond, and was arraigned Friday in Palmer District Court, Valadas said.

Photo courtesy of Ludlow (MA) Police Department

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