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Police Officer Fatally Shot in Marstons Mills

Sarah Tan
/
WCAI

tan_w_yarmouth_cai.mp3

A Yarmouth police officer was shot and killed while issuing a probation warrant to a suspect in Marstons Mills on Thursday. Sean Gannon, 32, was clearing the suspect's attic with his police dog when he was shot in the head, and his canine injured. The suspect, Thomas Latanowich, has been taken into custody. 

At Latanowich's arraignment on Friday afternoon, more than one hundred police officers gathered in the courtroom as he was charged. Latanowich was silent as the charges were read. His trial date is set for June 26. 

Yarmouth Police Chief Frank Frederickson said the arraignment was difficult to get through, and that Gannon was an exemplary officer who was "very presidential." 

Since the incident, the tight-knit Yarmouth community has pulled together. Many were shocked by the death of Gannon - the first intentional police killing in recent Cape memory. Resident Lorna Ahearn said she was shocked that something like this had happened. 

"All over the Cape is just overwhelmed by this, it’s something that just never happens here and this was a really fine young man," Ahearn said. "My daughter has met him before, just a wonderful young man and it’s devastating for all of us that he’s gone."

Gannon's police car has been parked outside the Yarmouth Police Station, and residents visited on Friday to pay their respects and lay flowers on the car's hood.

 

Jean Kennealy said she met Gannon four years ago, when he called her after finding her son suffering from a bad migraine in his car. She said she won’t forget his kindness in that situation.

 

"And he stayed with him the whole time until he got there and looked after my son and talked with him and sat in the car," she said. "My son didn’t want to go to the hospital, he didn’t make him call an ambulance he said ok we’ll wait for mom."