Millville police chief admits involvement in altercation over antique car in Uxbridge

MILLVILLE – Police Chief Ronald Landry Tuesday appeared before the selectmen Tuesday to squash rumors that he was arrested by Uxbridge police following a heated argument last week with another individual at an Uxbridge car dealership on Quaker

Highway.

“As full disclosure to all of the residents of Millville, last Wednesday I was involved in an incident in the Town of Uxbridge,” Landry told the board. “As a resident of Uxbridge, I was not on duty. I was not in uniform. And I did not identify myself as a police officer.”

“As for the incident, it was something where my family and property was affected,” he said. “I was loud and my filter was low. I made a lot of remarks. They (Uxbridge police) kept me detained for a cooling off period and looked into everything. I was released. There was no arrest and no criminal charges. There was none of that.”

Landry said he was involved in a verbal altercation with the driver who had transported an expensive antique car Landry purchased in Florida and had shipped to Karcraft of Uxbridge, a motor carrier, dealership and auto repair shop on Quaker Highway. He said an argument ensued when he went to inspect the car and noticed that it had

been severely damaged during the trip up to Massachusetts.

“My hobby is collecting cars with my son. We took a ride to Florida, purchased a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and had it shipped back home,” Landry explained. “That particular driver caused about $20,000 in damage to the car and then tried to hide it, so yeah, I kind of lost my filter.”

He said the damage virtually rendered the car worthless.

“I will admit that I was loud and my filter was off, and if you understood all of the circumstances I think I reacted like any normal person would react,” he said. “At the end of the day, it was a horrific event for my family, my property and myself. It was very hard to control my emotions at that time.”

“I met with the police chief

in Uxbridge on Friday, and he said, ‘Ron, it’s a civil issue between you and the other party.’ That’s where he left it and that’s where I left it.”

Uxbridge Police Chief Marc Montminy confirmed earlier this week that Landry was not arrested as a result of the altercation.

Landry said he decided to publicly disclose the incident so that residents would know exactly what happened.

“Somebody in this town made a phone call to just about every media outlet there is stating I was arrested while on duty and while wearing a uniform. That is simply a lie,” he said. “This was an attempt to smear Millville and myself. That’s what it was all about.”

Town Administrator Peter Caruso told the board that he spoke with the chief after

receiving a call from the media inquiring as to whether Landry had been arrested.

“This was a private matter. During the incident he could have represented himself as the police chief next door, but he didn’t do that,” Caruso told the board. “True professionals act that way in my opinion. There was no crime, no harm, and no foul.”

“I’m sorry there is someone trying to make trouble where there is no trouble,” Selectwoman Jennifer Dean Wing told Landry. “I though those days were behind us.”