Explosives At Cole Field; Williams College Students Involved

By Susan Bush10:34AM / Friday, April 20, 2007Print Story | Email Story

Williamstown - Three Williams College students described by police as "thrillseekers" will be summonsed to appear at the Northern Berkshire District Court on several charges after college security officers discovered a homemade bomb had been assembled and ignited at a southwest corner of Cole Field.

The discovery was made on April 15, according to information released by town police.

Police said they are seeking charges of possession of an infernal machine and disorderly conduct against the students. The names of the three students are not being released, said police and college officials. Kolesar declined to specify whether the students involved were first-, second-, third-, or fourth-year students.

According to information released to the media by police, "[the students] intent was not to cause damage or injury but to pursue their curiosity about such a device."

Police said that they were called by college security officers at 12:42 a.m. on Sunday, and upon investigation, found evidence that a "homemade explosive device" had been assembled at the field. The bomb was ignited but it failed to burn or explode, police said. Police said the area was remote and well away from any buildings.

The investigation was conducted by town police, members of the Massachusetts State Police, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and college safety and security officers. Police emphasized that the three students were cooperative during the investigation.

Police released information about the incident at 9 a.m. today.

Williams College officials expected to release a statement about the incident at the same time but have encountered technical difficulties with that release.

The statement will be released as soon as possible, said college Director of Public Affairs James Kolesar.

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if it was one of our childred that did this,their picture would be on the front page of the newspaper,,but if its a college student -all is quiet
from: dan	on: 04-20-2007 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

Why the delay in releasing the information?
from: Jean	on: 04-20-2007 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

I hope that this is treated seriously and not just as a prank. In light of everything that has happened recently, we need to be sending a message to everyone that the handling of guns and explosives especially in an area where are kids play is not tolerated. I look forward to seeing what the college and our law enforcement agencies do with this.
from: Bob	on: 04-20-2007 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

I attend BCC. Just the other day there was a threat written on a bathroom stall and the entire campus was evacuated immediately... over a threat! I think Williams College AND the police treated the situation too lightly. Not only that, those 3 students were probably making a test bomb to be sure that when they did decide to blow up the school it would at least work.
from: Anonymous	on: 04-21-2007 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

Apparently â€œanonymousâ€ didnâ€™t read the entire article. It clearly said Williamstown Police had already located a device, versus Pittsfield authorities who were looking for a mechanism, one that could have been placed anywhere on the BCC campus, therefore, forcing the shutdown of the campus. I would also contest the assertion by â€œanonymousâ€ that college & police officials treated the situation â€œtoo lightly.â€ Apparently the contact of the Massachusetts State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation still does not comfort â€œanonymousâ€ on how the incident was handled. I donâ€™t recall the F.B.I. in Pittsfieldâ€™s bomb scare? Hats off to all who participated in this incident and a job well done.
from: Tom	on: 04-22-2007 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

Williamstown Fin Comm Hears from Police Department, Library

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
10:10AM / Friday, March 06, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Police Chief Michael Ziemba last week explained to the Finance Committee why an additional full-time officer needs to be added to the fiscal year 2027 budget.

The 13 officers in the Williamstown Police Department are insufficient to maintain the department's minimal threshold of two officers on patrol per shift without employing overtime and relying on the chief and the WPD's one detective to cover patrol shifts if an officer is sick or using personal time, Ziemba explained.

Some of that coverage was provided in the past by part-time officers, but that option was taken away by the commonwealth's 2020 police reform act.

"We lost two part-timers a couple of years ago," Ziemba told the Fin Comm. "They were part-time officers, but they also worked the desk. So between the desk and the cruiser shifts, they were working 40 hours a week, the two of them. We lost them to police reform.

"We have seen that we're struggling to cover shifts voluntarily now. We're starting to order people to cover time-off requests. … We don't have the flexibility when somebody goes out for a surgery or sickness or maternity leave to cover that without overtime. An additional position, I believe, would alleviate that."

Ziemba bolstered his case by benchmarking the force against like-sized communities in Berkshire County.

Adams, for example, has 19 full-time officers and handled 9,241 calls last year with a population just less than 8,000 and a coverage area of 23 square miles, Ziemba said. By comparison, Williamstown has 13 officers, handled 15,000 calls for service, has a population of about 8,000 (including staff and students at Williams College) and covers 46.9 square miles.

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