Overview:
The Athol Police Department will dedicate a training room to the memory of Capt. Earl Grimes, who was killed in the line of duty in 1937. The refurbished training room will be named The Captain Earl Grimes Regional Training Room, and will display several of Grimes' mementos, including his APD badge, handcuffs, and pictures. Police Chief Jarret Mousseau, said that Grimes' service, sacrifice, and legacy will never be forgotten. Grimes' grandson, Wayne, donated several of his grandfather's mementos to the department.
ATHOL – Once repairs are complete at the police station, Chief Jarret Mousseau plans to dedicate a room to a member of the Police Department who lost his life in the line of duty nearly nine decades ago.
Each day on his way into work, the chief has looked at the black granite memorial dedicated to the memory of fallen Athol Police Captain Earl Grimes, which sits just outside the station. For some time, said Mousseau, he has felt something more should be done to honor Grimes.
That recognition will come with the completion of the repairs underway at the station. When a malfunctioning sprinkler flooded the station last November, one of the rooms most severely damaged was the officers’ training room. That room is currently being refurbished and expanded. Once all the work on the station is finished, the training room will be named The Captain Earl Grimes Regional Training Room.
Ironically, shortly after Mousseau made his decision to name the room after Grimes, he was contacted by Grimes’ grandson, Wayne, who wanted to donate several of his grandfather’s mementos to the department.
The younger Grimes visited the police station on March 4 to drop off the items and meet with Mousseau and Sgt. (Ret) Kent Hager. The items included his grandfather’s APD badge, a pair of handcuffs, and a come-along, a device that gives officers a good degree of control over the wrist of a suspect. He also donated several pictures of his grandfather.
At that time, Mousseau informed a surprised Wayne Grimes of his decision to honor his grandfather by dedicating the new and improved training room in his name.
The chief said he intends to display the items in a shadow box or something similar and keep them on permanent display in the room, along with several other items, including newspaper reports related to the tragedy.
“I thought it was important to make this donation,” Wayne Grimes told the Athol Daily News. “I thought it would mean a lot to the town. The things I’m donating have really gone from one family member to another; from my grandmother to my father to me. But I thought at some point they should end up with the town.
“He meant a lot to the town,” he said, “and the town meant a lot to him.”
Wayne Grimes said he has no other family members to pass the items on to and thought it best to leave them with the department.
On April 11, 1937 Earl Grimes and his partner, Officer Joseph McInerny, responded to an abandoned shack off of Chestnut Hill Avenue and Main Street for reports of a man soliciting money from children. News reports from the time state that as John Fletcher was leaving the shack with the two officers when he brandished a sawed-off shotgun. As Grimes attempted to take the weapon from the suspect, the gun discharged and he was shot in the abdomen. Fletcher was then shot and mortally wounded by McInerny, when the suspect reportedly reached for another weapon.
After making his way to a nearby home, Earl Grimes was transported to Heywood Memorial Hospital in Gardner. Understanding he was critically wounded, he reportedly told Dr. Francis Reynolds during transport to Gardner that he was “glad to die in the service of this town of Athol. I have enjoyed living in Athol; the people are all fine and square and I love everybody here. I like the chief and the other men on the force, all fine men.” Grimes passed away two days later.
In a letter to Wayne Grimes announcing the naming of the training room in his grandfather’s honor, Mousseau said of Earl Grimes, “His death marked a profound loss for both the Athol Police Department and the community he faithfully served. Captain Grimes’ service reflects the enduring values that continue to guide the Athol Police Department today: bravery, professionalism, and steadfast dedication duty. His sacrifice remains an important and honored part of Athol’s law enforcement history.
“It is with great pride that the Athol Police Department announces that the newly refinished training room will formally be dedicated to Captain Grimes and will henceforth be known as the Captain Earl Grimes Regional Training Room. His service, sacrifice, and legacy will never be forgotten.”
In addition, Mousseau said that, henceforth, no other officers in the Athol PD will be given the rank of captain.
Mousseau said he’s hoping work on the station will be completed in time to hold a dedication ceremony in early summer.