Busy Night for Williamstown Police Includes Life-Saving Moment

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Police Department on Wednesday evening had its hands full with several incidents, including one that allowed officers to help save a life.
 
Between 5 and 9 p.m., WPD officers responded to a three-car motor vehicle accident, calls involving domestic violence and one emergency on Williams College campus where the local police were the first on the scene, Chief Michael Ziemba said on Thursday.
 
The evening included deployment of the department's K9 Unit for tracking and one arrest.
 
"While the number and types of calls are fairly typical, or what some would call 'routine' for our police department, being able to say that we were part of a small team of people who helped to bring back a young life is not something that happens to us every day."
 
The life-threatening incident occurred during a Williams College athletic event, Ziemba said. An athlete from the visiting team had trouble breathing and chest pains.
 
WPD officers administered oxygen and began life-saving CPR until an EMS personnel arrived, he said.
 
An automatic external defibrillator was used three times on the student.
 
"Thankfully, the student was conscious and responsive upon arrival at the hospital and reportedly doing well today," Ziemba wrote in a Thursday afternoon release. "It's a great feeling to be able to share good news."
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Williamstown Police Looking into Damage at Post Office

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Police are looking into property damage at the U.S. Post Office on Spring Street.
 
On June 28, the Police Department received a report from a member of the Williamstown Garden Club, who was watering flowers at the Post Office and, "noticed that a granite slab had been displaced and a metal grate had been damaged," according to a police report.
 
Officer David Jennings responded to the scene and reported that it, "appeared that a vehicle or piece of machinery had struck the granite slab, causing it to shift into the metal grate and bend it," Jennings wrote.
 
By the middle of July, the damage to the grate was still apparent.
 
Williamstown Police contacted the postmaster, who said he would notify his supervisor about the damage.
 
Police Chief Michael Ziemba on Wednesday confirmed there is no closed-circuit television footage that provides details on how the damage occurred.
 
The damage is estimated to be worth about $500, according to the police report.
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