(Kim Tunnicliffe/WBZ NewsRadio 1030)
CHARLTON (WBZ-AM) -- A Massachusetts State Police trooper who was struck and killed allegedly by an impaired driver during a traffic stop on the Mass Pike two years ago was honored today by his fellow officers.
Trooper Thomas Clardy's widow and six children were on hand as Gov. Charlie Baker and State Police unveiled a granite monument in his honor outside the Charlton Barracks where Clardy worked.
"He was a great community guy, a wonderful father, and a spectacular husband," Gov. Baker said. "He was taken way too soon."
Clardy was remembered by State Police Barracks Commander Lt. Michael Smith for his mastery of the English language--especially when writing police reports.
Smith read aloud a portion of one of Trooper Clardy's infamous reports, this one about a drunken suspect:
" ... He uttered a phrase with a voice coarsened by alcohol, and the words were spoken in such savage haste as he ran them together in an unintelligible growl that scarcely resembled human speech ... "
The crowd laughed and applauded.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe reports