On Nov. 14 at 1:59 a.m., WPD officer Scott Rochette was on an unrelated call near the intersection of Rathbun and School Streets when he heard tires screech, and saw a red pickup approaching at a high rate of speed.
The truck turned sharply onto Hazel Street, tires screeching again, until it pulled out of sight, reappearing at the intersection of Hazel Street and East School Street, tires continuing to screech, according to Rochette's report.
Rochette followed the truck down East School Street, his emergency lights on, as it turned right on Rathbun Street without braking, or stopping at the stop sign, continuing down Cumberland Street, stopping after the Cass Avenue intersection, the officer reported.
Rochette spoke with the driver, Robert Pinardi, who denied he'd been driving erratically.
Rochette asked Pinardi to step from the truck, but Pinardi refused, asking, "Do I have to?" and stating, "I don't think I have to". Rochette then told him if he didn't, he'd remove him from the vehicle physically. That inspired Pinardi's compliance, though he resisted Rochette's attempt to administer a field sobriety test, clenching his fists, shaking his head and making an angry grunt.
A license check showed Pinardi's truck registration had been suspended because it hadn't been inspected, and had still not been inspected.
Rochette arrested Pinardi, charging him with reckless driving and issuing him a summons for driving an unregistered truck, having an expired inspection sticker and failure to activate his interior light during a police stop.
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