RANDOLPH — Chief William Pace and the Randolph Police Department are today releasing the complete police radio transmission recordings from 8 p.m. Aug. 25 to midnight, redacted only to remove the address of a domestic violence victim who is referred to on the tapes. Chief Pace and the Department are also releasing the 911 tapes relating to the Aug. 25 accident, with the same redactions.
As the department has reported, at approximately 9:20 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 25, the Randolph Police and Fire Departments responded to the area of North Main Street and Grove Street for a report of a pedestrian crash involving a police cruiser and a 29-year-old Randolph man. The victim was struck by the cruiser of an officer who was heading to a domestic violence call, with his lights and siren activated. The officer immediately stopped, radioed for an ambulance and rendered aid to the pedestrian before the Randolph Fire Department arrived to transport him to a Boston hospital.
“We are reviewing the facts and circumstances of this crash, with an outside agency taking the lead in the investigation and independent consultants also reviewing the matter holistically. The safety of the public is our top priority. If there is anything we can do differently to prevent a pedestrian accident in the future, especially an accident involving a police cruiser, we will do so,” Chief Pace said. “On behalf of the entire Randolph Police Department, I wish to apologize to Christopher Divens for the injuries he has suffered as the result of the crash, and I apologize to his family for what they are going through during this difficult time. I have spoken with the family and have offered to meet with the family.
“I wish to reiterate, for the record, that every piece of information we have indicates that this was an accident. I am deeply troubled by some of the messages I have read on social media and some reports I have read in the media, especially in today’s Boston Globe column. While we cannot provide information on an ongoing investigation, we can release public records to provide transparency about our operations. With the release of these records, we seek to reassure the public that there is nothing in the record to suggest that this is anything other than a horrible accident.”
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Generally, the Police Department does not use the names of parties involved in incidents in press releases. In this case, Christopher Divens has publicly identified himself to the media, has provided interviews, has released his name and has released photographs of the incident that were in his possession.