Foxboro Police Chief Edward O’Leary covering for Chandler Jones overdose?
In one of the most bizarre incidents of the 2015 NFL season, New England Patriots defensive end Chandler Jones reportedly walked to a police station on Sunday morning and was taken to the hospital after allegedly overdosing on drugs.
Are we going to find out more?
On Tuesday evening, Heavy.com released audio recordings from the Foxboro Police and Fire Dispatch that described Jones as a “confused party” who made his way to the police station on foot. The dispatcher called the fire department to respond to a medical emergency, and an officer who was sent to Jones’ home to secure it said the 25-year-old was “definitely involved with Class D delta.”
“I got his keys off the kitchen table, I was able to lock the front door,” the officer said, as transcribed by Tom E. Curran of CSSNE.com. “If you want to just pass along to the fire, he was definitely involved with Class D delta before this happened, just so they know.”
Class D likely refers to Class D drugs, which include marijuana and other THC-based substances like hashish and hash oil. The initial report claims Jones overdosed on pills, which would not be considered a Class D drug.
It’s fair to wonder if Foxboro Police Chief Edward O’Leary is trying to cover for Jones, who was at practice on Monday and Tuesday. O’Leary told the Boston Herald on Monday that his officers did not have any contact with Jones over the weekend and that the only time he has ever seen the star defensive end was in a television interview. The Herald later determined that dispatch records showed five officers were on the scene while Jones was being evaluated and one was dispatched to Jones’ home.
When asked if he misspoke, O’Leary told the Herald he did not and that he does not consider a “medical call” to be a “police specific call.”
“It’s protected information on a medical condition,” O’Leary explained. “Officers get training in making sure it’s information that’s not to be disclosed. I trust my lieutenant to know the difference.”
WEEI’s Dennis and Callahan, who broke the original story about Jones, notes that O’Leary has been in charge of stadium security for the Patriots for more than three decades.
The Foxboro police Chief lied to the Boston Herald and has been in charge of stadium security at Gillette Stadium for 31 years.
— Dennis and Callahan (@DandCShow) January 13, 2016
Again, this is an incredibly bizarre story. Jones obviously wasn’t charged with any crime and is notoriously private when it comes to personal matters, so we may not find out anymore about what actually happened.