Man arraigned in Taunton after melee
Allegedly stabbed police officers
Douglas J. Hagerty was on the second floor of a Taunton apartment building Tuesday night as two police officers moved toward him. In the previous 20 minutes, the 35-year-old had yelled at officers making a traffic stop, driven into two police cruisers, and crashed into the building before running inside, officials said.
When the officers confronted Hagerty, he lashed out, stabbing them both and barricading himself inside an apartment. Led by Chief Edward J. Walsh, officers forced their way inside, where Hagerty charged at Walsh and stabbed him in the abdomen. Walsh and other officers were then able to subdue Hagerty with a taser and arrest him.
On Wednesday, Hagerty was arraigned in Taunton District Court on a host of charges, including three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, armed assault with intent to murder, and resisting arrest, officials said. Hagerty was held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing and ordered to undergo a mental health examination.
The most seriously wounded officer was flown to a Boston hospital with wounds that were not considered life-threatening. Another officer was treated at a hospital in the Taunton area. Walsh suffered a puncture wound but returned to the scene after being treated at Morton Hospital.
After Hagerty was taken into custody, police said they found a double-sided knife in the second-floor hallway. A relative who lives in the apartment building told police Hagerty had installed surveillance cameras throughout the building, including in the hallway where the two officers were stabbed.
In 2021, Hagerty was found not guilty by reason of mental illness in connection with domestic violence that also led to charges of resisting arrest and assault and battery on a police officer, records show.
In that case he was ordered held under the state’s dangerousness law at the request of prosecutors who said Hagerty had a history of mental illness, records show. He was later transferred to Bridgewater State Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, which was the basis for a judge’s decision in September 2021 to find him not guilty.