Arresting tour of Dracut’s new police station

By David Silverstein, dsilverstein@lowellsun.com, Lowell Sun

DRACUT — Under normal circumstances, hundreds of unsupervised civilians strolling around a police station would be cause for concern.

Yesterday, it was cause for celebration as Dracut invited residents to attend an open house and see for themselves the features of the town’s brand-new, state-of-the-art police facility.

Citizens who took them up on the offer found very few locked doors inside the two-story, 23,000-square-foot building at 11 Loon Hill Road.

The station’s two interrogation rooms, 10 holding cells and four-stall firing range were among the amenities met with most interest, but almost every other part of the station — including the chief’s office — was subject to the leisurely inspection of residents.

The open house, from about 3 to 6 p.m., was preceded by a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony held at the doorstep of the new station.

Town Manager Dennis Piendak emceed the ceremony, which featured brief addresses by state Sen. Susan Tucker of Andover, state Rep. Colleen Gary of Dracut, Selectmen Chairman James O’Loughlin and Police Chief Kevin Richardson.

Under an overcast sky punctuated by a misty drizzle, the speakers thanked the community for their support throughout the building process and expressed enthusiasm about the new station, saying it will enable police to better serve the people of Dracut for years to come.

“I don’t think words can describe how I feel right now. All I can say is, thank you,” a slightly emotional Richardson told the crowd.

As the crowd filed into the building, Richardson stood near the front entrance and greeted well-wishers as they passed.

“God, this place is beautiful,” exclaimed Doris Dauphinais, the wife of Richardson’s former partner on the force.

“This is a gift given to us from the town,” Richardson said.

Once inside, attendees eagerly roamed about the station, taking time to poke into open rooms and give the handles on closed doors a jiggle, just in case.

In most cases, the doors did open, leading into everything from closets to interrogation rooms to vehicle maintenance bays. The door with a sign identifying it as the armory was an exception with good reason as several passers-by gave it a shot as they walked past, just in case.

Curious townspeople weren’t the only ones getting a look at the facility. Pelham Police Chief Joseph Roark and Sgt. Brian McCarthy came down to congratulate their cross-border counterparts on the new digs.

Impressed with what he saw while being shown around by Deputy Chief David Chartrand, Roark jokingly said, “While he’s giving us a tour, we’ve got our guys taking some things.”

If that really was the case, Dracut police would have plenty of time to take stock of the missing items, as the $8.2 million station, paid for through a debt exemption of Proposition 2 1/2, won’t be officially operational until the Emergency 911 system is transferred, a tricky process slated to take place May 10, Piendak said.