Middlesex County officials sign mutual aid agreement

WOBURN, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- A mutual aid agreement signed by police officials in Middlesex County will allow on-duty police officers to act if they observe unlawful behavior while traveling through another community.

In a press release issued Tuesday, the Middlesex County Chiefs of Police Association announced the signing of what they call the Massachusetts Interagency Mutual Aid Agreement. The agreement has been signed by 51 of 54 communities in the county, as well as Wellesley, Lynnfield, and Saugus.

Officials say police chiefs now have a formal way of requesting aid from neighboring communities. The agreement also gives an on-duty officer traveling to court or transporting a prisoner the ability to act if they witness unlawful behavior while driving through another community.

"Crime doesn't stop at the border, and this agreement will help ensure that criminals can't escape the law by escaping one community," said Weston Police Chief Steven Shaw, President of the Middlesex County Chiefs of Police Association.

Police say the agreement was created after an accused drunk driver's case was thrown out because a Natick police officer followed the driver into Framingham.
 
Middlesex is the first county in Massachusetts to sign a county-wide mutual aid agreement. They note that the agreement also covers nearly every community the 2014 Boston Marathon will pass through.

Cox Media Group