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March 13. 2013 10:50PM

Salem man indicted over charge he tried to take police officer's gun

By JAMES A. KIMBLE
Union Leader Correspondent

Dalton Cyr, 21, of Salem was indicted by a grand jury on charges that he tried to Salem police officer's gun during a struggle.

BRENTWOOD - A 21-year-old man is facing charges that he kicked a Salem police officer and tried to take the officer's gun while being arrested during a fight, prosecutors said.

Dalton Cyr, of Salem was indicted on charges of simple assault, resisting arrest and attempted taking of a firearm from a law enforcement officer.

Indictments against Cyr were made public on Wednesday.

Police responded to a report of two men fighting in the street on Stonegate Lane the morning of Nov. 30 around 3:30 a.m. but discovered an underage drinking party in the neighborhood.

Police officers entered the home where the party was under way, and two party-goers became combative with officers before being taken into custody, according to police.

Prosecutors say that Cyr grabbed at Officer Joseph Freda's firearm while it was in its holster, and kicked Freda while being taken into custody.

Freda sustained a hand injury that later required a trip to the hospital, but was able to make the arrest, police said. The simple assault and attempted taking of the firearms are both felonies that could land Cyr in state prison if he convicted.

Prosecutors sought an enhanced penalty on the simple assault charge - usually a misdemeanor - because Freda was acting in his official capacity as a police officer.

The simple assault charge is punishable by up to two to five years in state prison.

Cyr's arrest was among a few made that night at the party. Eric Greenwood, 21, of Methuen, Mass., shattered the rear window of a police cruiser with his head, police said. Greenwood was also charged with resisting arrest, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, prohibited sales and simple assault.

Police also charged Edward Colon, 22, of Methuen, Mass., with possession of controlled drugs and simple assault.

Cyr was being held at the Rockingham County jail on $50,000 bail. He will be arraigned later this month in superior court.

jkimble@newstote.com