Braintree Officers In Motel 6 Shooting Praised For Response

BRAINTREE, MA — The night of May 5 began like many nights have for police officers in the Town of Braintree - with a call concerning a man with an active warrant at the Motel 6 right off the highway on Union Street. Trips to the controversial motel off of Route 3 had become routine for officers, in part due to its ability to attract crime and the department’s access to the guest list. It was that night five officers went to a room to arrest a guest wanted by the Boston Police Department, but after an officer was shot and a motel guest killed, the routine warrant arrest became a full-blown crime scene.

Tuesday night, weeks after the evening that town officials called a “game changer” for how the town handled the motel, the five officers involved in the shooting were honored by the Braintree Town Council. The men had no idea that they were going to be shot at when they went to serve Tizaya Robinson a warrant and it would have been easy for the incident to degrade into chaos, but in police scanner audio played during the ceremony, all you could hear was the organized demeanor of the officers at the scene as they tried to get a wounded officer Donald Delaney to safety while organizing backup.

“I’m hit, I’m hit! I can’t see out of my eye” Delany yelled on the audio, shortly before he fired back and then taken to a nearby ambulance.

“Watch your approach. Anyone with a rifle, get it ready,” the audio continued.

Video and an investigation later released by the Norfolk District Attorney’s office showed what happened at the scene. As the officers announced that they were the door, Robinson began to shoot through the entryway and at the officers. The five had to quickly find cover as what was supposed to be a simple arrest turned into a shootout.

Shortly after the shooting, Delaney was taken to Boston Medical Center where he stayed for three days. Police officers were forced to evacuate the motel, shut down the road, and close the nearby train station. Robinson was found dead in the room. It was determined that he shot himself, but the fatal bullet came from an undetermined Braintree police officer.

“They are nothing short of heroic. There was a loss of life, and we sympathize with the family, but we thank God it was not our own,” Brian Cohoon, a detective, and president of the Braintree Police Officer’s Association said.

Delaney, along with officers Bill Cushing, Paul Hamilton, John Hurley, and William Cushing Jr. received countless praise from Mayor Joseph Sullivan, Police Chief Paul Shastany, and the council for what they describe as a heroic effort.

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“We take great pride in the work that we do through the selection process in looking to retain fine individuals that serve and protect us each and every day. We discovered on that evening that in fact the people we select, the people who serve us each and every day came through in a way most of us could never imagine,” Sullivan said.

None of the men involved in the incident spoke Tuesday night, but that was to be expected from a group that has largely rejected the hero title placed on them. While those close to them know they will never think of them in that manner, it did not stop Shastany from giving them that title.

“That night, these officers like many officers every night went on a routine call. There is nothing routine in policing. Unprovoked while doing their job, a criminal tried to kill them. They responded, admirable, excellently. They are my heroes. They fought to maintain safety for each other, applied first aid and all the while, they were protecting the public while they were under fire. Amazing,” Shastany said.

The officers also received citations from the State Senate and Massachusetts Legislature that were presented by state Rep. Mark Cusack and state senators Walter Timilty and John Keenan.

For Sullivan, the shooting was the last straw for Motel 6. The motel has been questioned in the past for issues surrounding the clientele and the arrests ranging from warrant arrests to drug distribution and human trafficking.

“May the Fifth was a turning moment in terms of that facility in the town of Braintree. We have stayed focus and steadfast in terms of our determination in making sure that facility will never reopen,” Sullivan said.

Shortly after the shooting, the motel voluntarily closed for six weeks as they tried to work through a solution. Unsatisfied with the result, the board of health voted in July to revoke the motel’s operating license, with a judge in Norfolk Superior Court upholding the ruling. The motel remains closed for business.

All five officers remain off duty as they deal with the fallout from the incident, but Delaney’s cousin Mike Monaghan told reporters after the ceremony that the man who was shot is ready to come back.

“Braintree will be a safe place when these five officers go back to work,” he said.

Image: Mayor Joseph Sullivan speaks while the officers involved in the Motel 6 shooting look on. Credit: Dan Libon