On Thursday, July 4, 2019 I, Officer Thomas Lambert was assigned to marked cruiser East-1 during the 4pm-12am shift. At approximately at 4:49 P.M., I was dispatched to a report of 6-7 males fighting, one male having a gun and the other carrying a bat. Please refer to Incident #19037807, several other East end units responded as well.

Upon arriving on scene I was flagged down by an individual, later identified as XXXX stating he saw the fight occur and has a video on his cell phone of the incident. After I spoke with XXXX, I was able to determine that the main suspect was a black male who may have been in possession of a firearm. The description is as follows: a light skinned black male, short curly afro, with a black hooded sweatshirt, white shirt underneath, light colored blue jeans, a red belt and red sneakers. Units searched the area, but were unable to locate any suspects. The cell phone video was entered into evidence under incident #19037807.

At approximately 8:15pm while on routine patrol in the area of Broadway and McGrath HWY, I noticed an individual matching the description of the suspect from the previously mentioned incident. This individual was in the area of Foss Park when he then crossed McGrath HWY over to the side of the Gulf Gas Station (212 Broadway). As the individual got closer to me I was able to identify him as Mr. Joseph Norman, who I have had previous encounters with and is known associate of the Somerville gang MP45. Mr. Norman and another unknown individual continued to walk down Broadway, turning right onto Cross St.

At this time I went back into my cruiser and drove down Cross St and saw Mr. Norman and his friend take a right turn down Bonair St. I then took a right turn down Bonair St. and exited my vehicle, observing Mr. Norman look back and start to run west on Bonair St. I then chased Mr. Norman down Bonair St. saying “Norman, police, stop running” and overheard his friend say “Bro why are you running”. Mr. Norman then took a right turn down Autumn St. I observed Mr. Norman running with his hand pinned down on his front waistband in an attempt to hold an unknown object in place. Mr. Norman then took a left turn on Broadway, finally going into the Chang Express parking lot. When going into the backyard of Chang Express, due to the possibility of Mr. Norman being in possession of a firearm, I drew my Department Issued service weapon.

I then observed Mr. Norman run from in between parked cars and attempt to climb a wooden fence on the other side of the driveway. Mr. Norman was unsuccessful and fell to the ground, and at this time I instructed him to get on the ground. Mr. Norman did not comply with my commands and walked towards me so I re holstered my Department Issued service weapon and attempted to gain control of his arms. Mr. Norman began to actively break my grip by attempting to grab my forearms and push them away from him. I then swept his legs and landed on top of him with my knee pinned to his chest. At this time Officer Buswell (East-2) responded and assisted me in cuffing Mr. Norman.

K-9 Officer Timothy Sullivan responded as well. Please refer to Officer Sullivan’s supplemental report. Officer Sullivan and K-9 Lobo initiated an article search of the immediate area near where I located Mr. Norman in the backyard. K-9 Lobo located a silver Smith and Wesson revolver with a black handle on top of the driver’s side front tire. This is the exact area I saw Mr. Norman run from when he ran across the yard to climb the wooden fence. Officer Buswell read Mr. Norman his Miranda Rights on a pre printed card he keeps on his person. Officer Buswell then asked Mr. Norman if he had been on Jacques St. at all today to which he stated “No”.

Mr. Norman was transported in Unit 200 by Officer Robert Anaya back to the station and booked in the usual manner by Lieutenant William Rymill. Mr. Norman is being charged with the following:

MGL C269 S10N – Firearm, Carry with Ammunition
MGL C269 S10 – Firearm Without FID Card, Posses
MGL C268 S32B – Resisting Arrest
MGL C265 S13D/A – Assault and Battery on a Police Officer

The Smith and Wesson revolver was rendered safe and a single bullet was found inside one of the chambers. The Smith and Wesson revolver and single bullet were secured and logged into the evidence. Photos of the firearm and ammunition have been attached to this report.

The firearm was tagged in to evidence (Tag #19037832-1)
The ammunition was tagged in to evidence (Tag #19037832-2)

Respectfully submitted,

Officer Thomas Lambert
Badge #347