In honor of National Adoption Month, Mayor Domenic Sarno hosted a reception Thursday to raise awareness of the growing need to find loving and permanent homes for youth who are in foster care.

SPRINGFIELD -- In honor of National Adoption Month, Mayor Domenic Sarno hosted a reception Thursday to raise awareness of the growing need to find loving and permanent homes for youth who are in foster care.

The event at City Hall featured testimonials from families about their life-changing journeys with adoption and foster care.

According to Joseph Sandagato, director of communications and public relations at the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange, families have different pathways they can follow to provide youth with the care they need.

"A child gets the benefit of having loving parents who can help to comfort them and guide them (and) give them a sense of permanency," said Sandagato. "The difference is foster care parents are engaging in a relationship with the child where the goal is to help support biological parents in regaining the children, so people doing work on the foster care side typically do it with the mindset that the placements will be shorter and the children will return home. On the adoptive side, parents are entering into the process where the department knows that the children will not be returning home."

Sandagato says that, while the end goals may be different, both situations require commitment and a lot of time and involvement with the child.

Sarno opened the event by officially proclaiming November Springfield Adoption Month.

"You can't put a price tag on how these families not only open up their homes, but more importantly their hearts to these children. I know firsthand with family and friends who have given a second chance to a child to be able to have and pursue a positive life," Sarno said in a press release.

The mayor's reception served as a precursor to statewide celebrations of National Adoption Day on Nov. 18. Courthouses throughout Massachusetts will hold ceremonies with remarks from judges, public officials and families who have adopted or will be adopting.

According to Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange, some of the goals of National Adoption Day are to raise awareness around adoption, encourage people to adopt and to celebrate families who adopt.

"There are children across the state who so desperately need a loving family to call their own, not just in the month of November but all year long," Lisa Funaro, the organization's executive director, said in a press release. "We appreciate Mayor Sarno and his administration for raising awareness about the need right here in the Springfield community."

A $5 million grant will be used to fund Head Start programs in Western Massachusetts.

SPRINGFIELD — On Thursday, Democratic Congressman Richard E. Neal announced a $5 million grant will be used to continue support for Head Start programs in Western Massachusetts communities on Thursday.

Neal was present at HCS Head Start--the multi-service agency responsible for Holyoke, Chicopee, and Springfield--on Thursday, detailing how the allocated funds would go towards services for families and children in the communities.

HCS is responsible for enrolling 976 preschool children, as well as 128 toddlers, infants, and pregnant women, and is the second largest Head Start program in the state.

With the total fiscal funding for Head Start programs being $10 million, these Western Massachusetts communities are set to receive a significant bulk of annual funds.

Hampden county Sheriff Michael Ashe releases final report on community service program he started in 1993.

The Minimum Security Inmate Community Service Restitution Program was created in 1993 by Hampden County Sheriff Michael J. Ashe, Jr. as a way of putting low-level offenders to work, and reintegrating them back into society. Now, as Ashe prepares to leave office, he has released a final report on the program that began nearly 23 years ago.

"I said at the creation of this program twenty-three years ago, and I re-iterate today, that a good healthy sweat worked up in service to others is good for offenders soon to re-enter the community. I call it 'sweat equity' in a new community life," said Ashe in a statement on Thursday.

That "sweat equity" system has produced 74,034 hours of work from 373 participants across the county during 2016 alone, according to the Hampden County Sheriff's Office.

"Many of those brought to our custody have been 'takers'. This gives them a chance to be 'givers', and is part of a positive momentum toward law-abiding, positive, productive, citizenship," said Ashe in his final report.

The office further reports that since the program began, over one million hours of community service has been conducted by 34, 220 offenders.

"We really believe that this program is one of the reasons that we now have the best recidivism rate of any urban county jail in America," said Ashe.

The Hampden County District Attorney's Office is looking into allegations of misconduct at a all-female correctional center in Chicopee.

CHICOPEE — A maintenance worker employed at the Western Massachusetts Regional Women's Correctional Center, located in Chicopee, may be under investigation as the result of sexual misconduct, according to 22News.

When questioned by the news organization about the allegations, the Hampden County District Attorney's Office responded with this statement:

"An allegation of staff misconduct has been referred by the Hampden Sheriff's Department to the Hampden District Attorney's Office for investigation by assistant district attorneys and Massachusetts State Police detectives within the office. Because this is an ongoing criminal investigation, no further comment can be made."

The correctional facility in question is an all-female institution that opened in 2007.

No further information about the accusations has been made available at this time.

The reduction in beds at the Holyoke Soldiers' Home at 110 Cherry St. in Holyoke, Massachusetts to 250 from 265 is happening as a result of a federal inspection that determined space needs had changed since the facility opened in 1952, Superintendent Bennett Walsh told city councilors on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016 at City Hall.

HOLYOKE -- The Holyoke Soldiers' Home is reducing the number of long-term care beds to 250 from 265 to comply with modern federal space standards, Superintendent Bennett W. Walsh told a City Council committee Thursday.

Walsh, who took over leadership of the state facility on Cherry Street in May, was asked to address the Development and Government Relations Committee at City Hall as an introduction and to discuss the facility and his plans.

"Our main mission is to provide care with honor and dignity for our veterans and they do it 24 hours a day ... the ones who really need to be thanked are the care-givers behind the scenes," Walsh said.

Leading the Soldiers' Home has been an honor, he said.

"It's humbling to be there," Walsh said.

The Holyoke Soldiers' Home provides residential and out-patient care for military veterans at 110 Cherry St. overlooking Interstate 91.

The facility has 250 long-term beds and 30 residential dorm units and is 98 percent full, Walsh said.

The reduction in beds is taking place as the result of a periodic inspection by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The facility was built in 1952 and since then, people and equipment have gotten bigger. That's requiring that four-person rooms be cut to space for three, three to two and two to one, he said.

A Springfield native, Walsh recently retired as a lieutenant colonel after 24 years in the U.S. Marine Corps.

A story with more detail will be published later this week about the meeting between Superintendent Bennett Walsh of the Holyoke Soldiers' Home and the Holyoke City Council Development and Government Relations Committee.

Demolition of toll plazas and reconstruction of some areas on the Mass. Turnpike is ahead of schedule, as much as two and a half weeks ahead, said officials with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

This story is part of ongoing MassLive coverage into the state's October 2016 launch of all-electronic tolling on the Mass. Pike and the elimination of toll plazas.

_________________________

BOSTON - Demolition of toll plazas and reconstruction of some areas on the Mass. Turnpike is ahead of schedule, as much as two and a half weeks ahead, said officials with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

Highway workers have been knocking down the toll plazas and reconstructing the areas in 23 zones between Boston and the New York border. Eighty-one percent of the 155 toll plazas are gone, according to MassDOT.

The first phase, which includes the demolition of the center area of the toll plazas like the metal canopies and toll booths, was set to be completed on Nov. 22. But in Weston, the Interchange 15, that work is already done, MassDOT said in a release Thursday evening.

MassDOT added that if the weather allows, the first phase will be finished at the following times and locations:

• Late Friday at Interchange 2 in Lee

• Friday night at Interchange 11 in Millbury

• End-of-day Friday at Interchange 37 at the Ted Williams Tunnel in Boston

• Late Saturday at Interchange 3 in Westfield

"We are very pleased with the progress being made with the removal of our toll plaza infrastructure," Mass. highway chief Thomas Tinlin said in a statement.

Watch this excavator eat the Millbury toll plaza

"Our contractors and MassDOT employees have been safely and aggressively implementing the management, design, and logistical plans for each specific work zone," he added. "The driving public has helped us make this progress possible because travelers have been cooperative and courteous in going through work zones at slow speeds and following line markings, barrels, and jersey barriers defining the temporary lanes of travel."

The first phase has also included filling in tunnels underneath the toll booths.

The next phase involves demolishing the toll plaza on the farthest right and left wings.

Toll plaza demolition and road reconstruction is expected to be finished on the Turnpike by the end of 2017.

Here's how the Mass. Pike toll plazas are coming down

peaking to an audience of about 20 residents, Barbieri and Mayor Domenic Sarno laid out the public safety plan being developed to accommodate the casino crowds.

SPRINGFIELD -- When the MGM Springfield casino opens its doors in September 2018, it will have transformed more than its 14.5 acre downtown campus.

25,000 visitors per day are expected to travel to the casino -- a rush of new traffic that will have a profound effect on life in Springfield's South End neighborhood.

"It requires a different level of policing," said Police Commissioner John Barbieri at a South End Citizens Council meeting Thursday evening.

Speaking to an audience of about 20 residents, Barbieri and Mayor Domenic Sarno laid out the public safety plan being developed to accommodate the casino crowds.

41 police officers will make up a new unit dedicated to the downtown and South End, including six supervisors and 35 patrol officers. They will receive training in C3 anti-gang policing, as well as deescalation and a new peer intervention program designed to help officers stop each other from committing misconduct.

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and Police Commissioner John Barbieri at a South End Citizens Council meeting on Nov. 3, 2016.Dan Glaun 

And the mission of the new unit will go beyond responding to casino-related disturbances, Barbieri said. Supervisors will be chosen by April and officers will begin hitting the beat six months to a year before MGM Springfield opens, as part of an effort to reduce crime and improve quality of life in the neighborhood.

The department's philosophy is on "holistic" policing, which prioritizes identifying problems, talking with community members, connecting residents with services and targeting repeat violent offenders rather than arrest numbers, Barbieri said.

"We're not going to arrest people and resolve this issue. It's about arresting the right people. The people who do not want to accept services and be helped," he said. "Zero tolerance is like an occupying army. The goal is to go into these neighborhoods and treat people like residents."

Sarno said that the approach is paying off, with progress reflected in city crime statistics.

"Overall, believe it or not, crime is down 10 percent in the city of Springfield," Sarno said. "Homicides, even one is too many, are down 40 percent."

After the policing plan was unveiled in March, City Councilor Justin Hurst criticized it as having the potential to create a "fortress of public safety" downtown at the expense of other neighborhoods.

But Barbieri said at the meeting that the increased police presence could help other parts of the city, contending that aving more officers in call-heavy downtown can prevent diversion from other neighborhoods.

"We're hoping that not only will we protect the metro area, but all the neighborhoods will better served because their officers will be able to stay in their areas," he said.

Beyond the new unit, the department will be rolling out police call boxes which will quickly connect users to emergency dispatchers and provide access to real-time camera feeds. A new real-time crime analysis system could give police access to security cameras run by local businesses when incidents occur, Barbieri said.

The department has looked at new ways for officers to patrol the South End. While police horses are not on the table -- "They're beautiful, but it's so much work," Barbieri said -- officers will patrol on foot, by bicycle and on newly acquired motorcycles.

The department plans on rolling out an online system for residents to check crime reports i their neighborhoods. And individual officers will be stationed in police boxes downtown, allowing pedestrians to file in-person reports.

Barbieri and Sarno were joined at the meeting by City Councilors Bud Williams, Melvin Edwards and Adam Gomez.

Dennis Murphy, a representative for MGM Springfield, said that the company has monthly meetings with the department and the city to work on the public safety plan. He said he believes the department should obtain state-of-the-art technology and visit other cities with major casinos to prepare for MGM's opening.

"It would be short sighted to not want to spend money and not invest and not be intelligent about this," Murphy said.

Residents raised concerns about traffic flow, parking and insufficient sidewalk lighting during a public comment period.

Sarno said that his team was looking at improving the lighting in the South End, and said he would try to organize another public meeting with Department of Public Works head Chris Cignoli to discuss traffic and parking issues.

A State Police cruiser was sideswiped by another vehicle in Chicopee on Thursday night.

CHICOPEE — A Massachusetts State Police cruiser was sideswiped in Chicopee on Thursday evening, according to a State Police Trooper at the Springfield barracks.

The incident occurred on I-391 south, in the vicinity of Exit 3, but police have released scant details about what happened or if anyone is facing charges.

The trooper whose vehicle was sideswiped was not injured during the incident, said the Trooper.

More information will be added when it becomes available.

The increase will be used to finance treatment of contaminated water found in Wells 7 and 8 earlier this year.

WESTFIELD - The average homeowner can expected to pay about $30 more a year for municipal water effective Jan. 1 due to a 10 percent rate increase approved this week by the Board of Water Commissioners.

Department of Public Works director David Billip said Thursday the rate increase is necessary to finance treatment of contaminated drinking water found at Wells 7 and 8 which are located near Barnes Regional Airport.

"The average increase for residential customers will be about $30 a year," Billips said.

He said the additional revenue generated will be used to finance a water treatment facility at the two wells to elimination contamination from chemicals PFOA and PFOS which were found in the two wells in May. The chemicals found are used in a variety of manufacturing procedures and in fighting aviation related fires.

Design of the treatment facility is already underway and bonding is expected to be requested sometime next year to finance the facility. Funds from the rate increase will also be used by DPW to make necessary to water tank repairs within the municipal system.

The city has been restricted water use since the contamination was found and because of continued drought conditions the Board of Water Commissioners order a total ban on outside water use Sept. 15. That was primarily because of a significant drop in water levels at the city's Granville Reservoir.

In a related matter, the City Council Thursday night gave its final approval to a $4 million bond order to finance replacement of residential and commercial water meters.

Some meters have already been replaced and Billips said Thursday the funding from the bond will finance the replacement of about another 12,000 throughout the city. Meter replacement will resume early in 2017. He estimated the city has a total of around 13,000 meters and the change process will take 12 to 18 months to complete.

BOSTON (AP) — Harvard University is suspending its men's soccer team for the rest of the season over sexual comments made about members of the women's soccer team. University President Drew Faust said in a statement Thursday night that an investigation into the 2012 team found that their "appalling" comments were not isolated and have continued through the current season. The...

BOSTON (AP) -- Harvard University is suspending its men's soccer team for the rest of the season over sexual comments made about members of the women's soccer team.

University President Drew Faust said in a statement Thursday night that an investigation into the 2012 team found that their "appalling" comments were not isolated and have continued through the current season.

The 2012 document uncovered by The Harvard Crimson student newspaper rated the attractiveness of recruits on the women's team and included lewd comments about them. Members of the men's team called it their "scouting report" and circulated it online.

Athletics Director Robert Scalise has sent an email to student athletes announcing that the university will forfeit its remaining games of the season.

The soccer team is currently ranked first in the Ivy League.

The Springfield Police Department eulogized a longtime K-9 employee on Thursday.

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Police Department mourned the loss of "Kira"--a police K-9 who passed away Thursday, and had been with the force since 2007.

Kira's ex-partner Officer Raul Gonzalez, of Springfield, eulogized the canine over social media. Gonzalez says that after Kira's retirement several years back, he had adopted her and she became a "full time family dog."

It was both Kira's professional achievements and personal warmth that made her a great presence in people's lives, said Gonzalez.

"She helped the Springfield Police Department in locating & apprehending bad guys, locating evidence related to crimes, narcotics and locating missing persons," said Gonzalez.

"K9 Kira was a smart police dog that knew when to use her police skills and when to use her people skills," he said.

Gonzalez also described Kira as enjoying "long walks, hikes, car rides" and said that she "loved people," often bringing them great joy. "Everyone that knew Kira loved her," said Gonzalez. "A dog's life is short, and a police dogs life is even shorter. I hope that I made the best of the time we had with Kira," he said.

"I thought about the life I tried to give her as both partner and family member. Did I give her the best I could after her career? Did I fulfill her life?," Officer Raul Gonzalez wrote.

Kira's ex-partner Officer Raul Gonzalez, of Springfield, said goodbye to his K-9 and friend on Facebook and Instagram after she died Thursday.

Kira retired two years ago after being with the force since 2007. She then became a "full time family dog" with Gonzalez.

Gonzalez's post said he took her one one last ride in the K-9 cruiser, "her last ride with her handler and friend."

Springfield Police Department mourns loss of longtime K-9

"I thought about the life I tried to give her as both partner and family member. Did I give her the best I could after her career? Did I fulfill her life?" Gonzalez wrote. He continued saying, "A dog's life is short, and a police dogs life is even shorter. I hope that I made the best of the time we had with Kira."

Read the full post below:

Last night I took my ex partner, K9 Kira, on her last ride in the K9 cruiser, her last ride with her handler & friend. The last few days there was something different about the way she looked out into the sky as she walked out to the back yard. She had a slower strut and she struggled to walk over to say hello to Hades in the kennel (my new K9 partner that replaced her almost two years ago). Kira learned to tolerate Hades as the new partner. Just like K9 Odin, my first K9 partner, learned to tolerate her when she replaced him in mid 2007. The last few days she became ill, unable to move & eat. The heartbreaking decision all pet owners hate, a decision that had to be made. I thought about the life I tried to give her as both partner & family member. Did I give her the best I could after her career? Did I fulfill her life? K9 Kira was a great partner. She worked hard for me, never asking for much, but play and praise. Kira was the first female police dog & first Belgian Malinois that served the Springfield K9 unit. She was imported from the Netherlands before making her to way to a vendor in Rhode Island and later becoming my new partner. She served as a duel purpose: Police dog trained in patrol & narcotics. She helped the Springfield Police Department in locating & apprehending bad guys, locating evidence related to crimes, narcotics and locating missing persons. K9 Kira was a smart police dog that knew when to use her police skills & when to use her people skills. She was also a great demo dog because of that. Before her retirement, Kira had a few months of learning to be house trained. Kira, with the help of my family & Fiance, Lola, began her transition from being a working dog to a full time family dog. My fiance learned all of Kira's Dutch commands & devoted to help me so that Kira could enjoy her retirement. She enjoyed her long walks, hikes, car rides & her dog tricks that always got her treats. She loved people and brought us great joy. I will miss that as well as her calm demeanor. Everyone that knew Kira loved her. A dog's life is short, and a police dogs life is even shorter. I hope that I made the best of the time we had with Kira

A photo posted by Raul Gonzalez (@rulek138) on Nov 4, 2016 at 11:34am PDT

Two people were arrested in North Adams on drug charges on Friday.

NORTH ADAMS — Two people were arrested in North Adams on Friday after authorities executed a search warrant at a local residence and discovered evidence of a crack cocaine distribution operation.

Matthew Schilling and Nicole Gyurasz were taken into custody and are being charged with a number of narcotics related charges, according to a spokesman for the North Adams Police Department.

At the searched residence, authorities discovered evidence that pointed to the manufacturing and distribution of crack cocaine, according to police. Authorities say they also discovered heroin at the residence.

The Berkshire County Drug Task Force worked in tandem with local authorities to utilize the search warrant that exposed the alleged drug violations, police said.

Both Schilling and Gyurasz have been charged with manufacturing and distributing crack cocaine, conspiracy to violate drug laws, and possession of heroin.

The shooting occurred in the vicinity of 375 Boston Road, which is near the interection of Bay Street and Breckwood Avenue.

UPDATE, 5:30 p.m.: Springfield Police Lt. Mark Rolland said a man was shot in the face and transported to Baystate Medical Center, The Republican's Lucas Ropek reports from the scene. Rolland said the man might have been coming out of the barber shop at 326 Boston Road when he was shot.

Another officer said no suspects are currently in custody.

SPRINGFIELD — Police are dispatched to a section of Boston Road in Pine Point for a reported shooting.

The shooting occurred in the vicinity of 375 Boston Road, which is near the intersection of Bay Street and Breckwood Boulevard.

No information is available about the victim or suspects. It occurred shortly before 5 p.m.

This is a developing story and more information will be posted as it is known.

More than 7,000 people had cast ballots in Springfield ahead of the Nov. 8 election, including a very busy Election Office on the final day.

SPRINGFIELD -- There was an overflow crowd at the Springfield Election Office on Friday as early voting came to an end, with more than 7,000 residents casting ballots over the past two weeks ahead of the 5 p.m. deadline.

City Hall was the sole voting location open for early voting on the final day, and 628 residents had filled in ballots by mid-afternoon, Election Commissioiner Gladys Oyola said

"It has been exciting and I think people are really enthusiastic about voting -- period -- in this election because it's a presidential election year," Oyole said. "But I think they are using early voting as a way to just cast a ballot when they want and where they want. It's been great."

As of 3 p.m., there were a total of 7,023 ballots cast, dating back to the launch of early voting on Oct. 31. Voting occurred at City Hall and various neighborhood locations.

That number was approximately 7 percent of all registered voters in Springfield, now numbering more than 100,000 registered.

The Election Office had opened at 8 a.m. on Friday, and there were already about 5 people waiting to vote, Oyola said. As the day grew busier, the office moved booths into the two hallways directly outside the office to reduce waits and crowding, she said.

Maria Naomi Rivera was among the early voters, joined by her fiance, Rodney Aiken.

"We both work all day on Tuesday (Election Day)," Rivera said. "It was great we were able to come in today. He is off today and I don't have to be in work until 5, so it worked out perfectly."

"Perfectly," Aiken said, adding that the wait was not long..

"It's a little convenient," Rivera said. "We went in and came right out. It worked out just fine."

John Caldwell, another early voter, said he came to City Hall to pay his real estate tax "and voted at the same time."

"It was very helpful," Caldwell said, adding that he believes people like the flexibility of voting early if it can be more convenient.

Another voter, not wanting her name used, said she will not be in Springfield on Tuesday and is glad she could vote early because "I think every vote matters."

"People who don't vote are the ones that complaint the most about everything," she said.

A New York City police officer was fatally injured and another was wounded while responding to a 911 call Friday afternoon.

A New York City police officer was fatally injured and another was wounded while responding to a 911 call Friday afternoon.

J. Peter Donald, a spokesperson for the department, confirmed the shooting.

One of the officers was shot in the head, the other in the leg, NBC New York reports. Both were taken to a nearby hospital where one of the officers was pronounced dead. The condition of the wounded officer was not immediately available.

The officers were following a suspect in a home invasion when gunshots began, NBC New York reports. The suspect was killed in the gunfire. 

More than 3,400 people had cast ballots in Chicopee under the early voting program, approximately 8 percent of registered voters. The election is Nov. 8.

CHICOPEE -- The scorecard is in on the early voting program in Chicopee and City Clerk Keith Rattell judged it a solid success on Friday.

As early voting came to a close just before 5 p.m. Friday, a total of 3,464 residents had cast ballots ahead of the Nov. 8 election, according to City Clerk Keith Rattell. That number is about 8 percent of registered voters, he said.

"I think it's great," Rattell said. "Being the first time, we didn't really know what to expect, but we were ready for everything. We had no problems whatsoever."

The early voting took place at City Hall.

Rattell said that he and poll workers talked to many of the early voters and most had very positive things to say about the new program.

"Most said it was convenient, quick, ... and easy," Rattell said. "They could come on their own schedule."

The numbers voting escalated in the final days before the deadline, Rattell said. On Friday, the final day, more than 500 people voted at City Hall, he said.

Authorities say a New York City police sergeant has been fatally shot and another has been wounded in an exchange of gunfire with a suspect in the Bronx.

NEW YORK (AP) -- A police sergeant was shot and killed and a second one was wounded Friday in a gunfight on a street with an armed man who had broken into his estranged wife's home, officials said.

The gunman also was killed in the exchange of shots that took the life of Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo, a 19-year veteran of the New York Police Department and the father of two young children.

"The city is in mourning, and the family of the NYPD is in mourning," Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference held at a Bronx hospital.

The mayor, a Democrat, called Tuozzolo "a very good man, a devoted man, a man who committed his life to protecting all of us."

The other wounded sergeant, Emmanuel Kwo, was undergoing treatment for a gunshot wound to the leg, officials said.

The violent encounter began to unfold at 2:45 p.m., when a woman called police and said a Long Island man, Manuel Rosales, had forced his way into an apartment where his estranged wife and their 3-year-old son were staying. Rosales stayed for hours before fleeing, police said.

Patrol officers spotted his car just a few minutes later about a half-mile away. Several officers converged on the vehicle. As they approached, Rosales opened fire with a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol, police said.

Tuozzolo was shot at close quarters, police Commissioner James O'Neill said.

"There's nothing worse than a day like today," O'Neill said.

News helicopter footage of the scene showed the red SUV that Rosales had been driving mounted on a sidewalk, pinned between a flatbed truck and a police vehicle.

Area resident Gary Mayo, a city worker, was home on a day off when he heard five or six booms.

"That doesn't sound like firecrackers," he said he thought.

From the terrace of his fourth-floor apartment he saw a swarm of police cars converging on a nearby street and could tell whatever happened was "something really big," he said.

Rosales, 35, had a history of 17 arrests, many related to domestic disputes, and had served time in state prison for possession of stolen property.

A court issued an order in January 2015 telling him to stay away from his wife. In July, he was arrested in Bay Shore and was accused of violating that order by grabbing her hair and yanking her head back and forth.

He was scheduled to appear in court on Long Island on Nov. 16 on a charge of violating a protective order.

A lawyer who previously represented Rosales said he wasn't violent but declined to comment further.

Tuozzolo is the fifth New York Police Department officer to be fatally shot in the line of duty in the last two years.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, said in a statement that Tuozzolo had "made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty."

Doctors who favor legalizing recreational marijuana for adults pushed back against assertions that legalizing marijuana is harmful to public health. Massachusetts voters will determine whether to legalize marijuana through Question 4 on the 2016 ballot.

BOSTON -- Doctors who favor legalizing recreational marijuana for adults on Friday pushed back against assertions that legalizing marijuana is harmful to public health.

"I think that if someone is using marijuana a little bit in the evenings after work is done and their responsibilities are over, in those situations, I think marijuana is probably potentially completely safe, if you have someone who's old enough that their brain's finished developing," said J. Wesley Boyd, a psychiatrist in private practice, at a press conference outside the Statehouse.

Massachusetts voters will decide on Tuesday's ballot Question 4 whether to legalize recreational marijuana. Advocates for marijuana legalization were responding to a press conference held Thursday by Attorney General Maura Healey and groups representing Massachusetts' doctors, hospitals and nurses.

The marijuana opponents listed a litany of health concerns if Massachusetts were to legalize marijuana. They worried that marijuana edibles could appeal to adolescents or be eaten accidentally by children, resulting in overdoses. They cited reports in Colorado of an uptick in children visiting emergency rooms after eating marijuana edibles since legalization. They argued that marijuana can be addictive, is hazardous to pregnant women and their babies, hurts adolescent brain development, and can impair judgment when someone is driving or working.

The Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, Massachusetts Medical Society, American Nurses Association and several other health-related organizations and professional groups have come out against the ballot question.

In response, the pro-marijuana Yes on 4 group released a list of 117 Massachusetts doctors who individually support legalizing marijuana. No health care organization has publicly endorsed the measure.

Susan Lucas, a doctor from Ayer, said today, patients are hesitant to admit illicit drug use to their doctors, so it can be difficult to talk to them about using drugs safely. She said the current system results in people obtaining unsafe drugs. "Under the current system, they get it from the street," Lucas said, noting that marijuana can be laced with pesticides or fentanyl. "They should be able to get it in a safe way."

She added that marijuana can be useful for veterans to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. Veterans in the Veterans Affairs system cannot get marijuana for medical purposes because it is illegal federally.

Boyd said marijuana is less dangerous than tobacco or alcohol, both of which are legal. He said there has not been increased use by teens in states where marijuana is legal. He raised the possibility that there will be fewer opioid overdoses if individuals are able to get relief from some symptoms through marijuana rather than more addictive drugs.

Asked about concerns about overloaded emergency rooms, Jordan Tishler, a spokesman for Doctors for Cannabis Regulation who prescribes medical marijuana and who also works in an emergency room, said emergency room visits have increased in states with legal marijuana. But the numbers are still relatively low. In addition, he said no one can get seriously ill from marijuana, the way they can from overconsumption of alcohol or opioids.

Retired physician Michael Olstein added that legalizing marijuana will make it easier for state researchers to research the drug and investigate its medical benefits.

Medical marijuana is already legal in Massachusetts. It is not taxed in the same way as recreational marijuana will be. The products are also likely to be different, with recreational marijuana having higher levels of THC, the ingredient that causes someone to get high.

The Massachusetts Medical Society pushed back against the doctors' contentions that legalizing marijuana will be beneficial. "The facts are that marijuana presents a real risk of addiction," said Dr. James Gessner, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, in a statement. "Its use damages the developing brains of young people, risks pregnancy, and increases the risk of accidents."

The Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association said in a statement, "There is nothing healthy or safe about allowing the promotion and sale of highly potent edible gummies, candies, and sodas, particularly to our children and vulnerable youth. And there is nothing healthy about increasing the number of drugged driving crashes and fatalities on our roads - all of which have happened in other states with commercial marijuana sales."

"The Yes on 4 campaign should stop disingenuously marketing Question 4 as a medical marijuana proposal and admit that legalizing recreational marijuana is the absolute wrong path for the health and well-being of our families," the association said. The association argued that the legalization of recreational marijuana would make the medical marijuana system -- in which marijuana is prescribed by a doctor at a particular dosage and patients are monitored -- obsolete.

Tishler responded that if someone can handle their medical symptoms by taking recreational marijuana, they may not need a doctor -- similar to if a person cures a headache by taking Tylenol. Tishcler said he hopes if someone is sicker than that, they will still see a doctor and be prescribed medical marijuana.

A teen drown in a Holyoke canal Friday morning while attempting to evade arrest, law enforcement officials say.

HOLYOKE -- A teen drown in a Holyoke canal Friday morning while attempting to evade arrest, law enforcement officials say.

Holyoke police were called to South Holyoke at approximately 5 a.m. after a woman reported her minivan being stolen near the intersection of Main and Cabot Streets.

The department advised officers to be on the lookout for the red van, warning that the suspects may be armed.

Body of Holyoke car chase suspect found in canal

A short time later, officers spotted a vehicle matching the description less than a mile away. Officers signaled for the driver to pull over - a request that was declined - leading to a pursuit of the minivan that ended when it crashed on North Canal Street.

After the van smashed into a curb, police say the driver - later identified to be a juvenile - and the passenger fled the van. The driver was arrested a short distance from the crash scene while the passenger jumped into the second level canal in an attempt to flee.

The man began to drown while swimming across the canal, Jim Leydon, spokesperson for the Hampden District Attorney's Office, said in a statement.

Holyoke officers used water rescue disks in an attempt to save him but the young man disappeared under the water before grabbing onto one.

Members of the Massachusetts State Police Dive Team and Holyoke Fire Department launched a boat into the canal and his body was recovered.

He was identified Friday evening by the Hampden District Attorney's Office as 19-year-old Alexander Torres Hernandez, of Holyoke.

The incident remains under investigation by the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni's Office and the Holyoke Police Department.