NORTHAMPTON — A city man who was stabbed in Pulaski Park on Saturday refused to utter his assailant’s name as he bled and nearly lost consciousness, according to court documents.
Bradley Davis, 37, was taken into custody shortly after the downtown incident after he allegedly admitted to stabbing 38-year-old Brandon Williamson, according to a statement of facts written by various Northampton Police officers.
Davis was held without the right to bail at his arraignment in Northampton District Court Monday morning and faces a charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
Police responded to the stabbing at approximately 1:20 p.m. finding Williamson wearing a blood-soaked shirt near a fire hydrant at the park’s entrance. Officers described Williamson’s stab wound as being “one-to-two inches deep.”
Officer Jeronimo Fernandez wrote in a police report that he supported Williamson’s back with his left knee while another officer applied pressure to the wound. Williamson repeatedly told police that he stabbed himself.
“A person next to us began saying that the suspect was wearing a red shirt and had a baby, [and] Williamson uttered ‘Don’t snitch,'” Fernandez wrote in his report describing his first interaction with Williamson.
As Williamson bled, breathing deeply and appearing “close to losing consciousness,” Fernandez wrote that officers continued applying pressure to the wound while they waited for an ambulance from the Northampton Fire Department.
Firefighters arrived on the scene and loaded Williamson, who at that point, according to court documents, had “gone completely limp,” onto a stretcher for transport to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.
Investigating the scene, Fernandez wrote that he could see a trail of blood droplets near the end of the bus stop leading to the steps of the Academy of Music.
During the subsequent investigation, Officer Heather Longley attempted to speak with two people who were at Williamson’s side when police first approached him. One informed police that he did not see anything, and another told the officer that after serving 15 years in prison, he would not talk to law enforcement and would “handle it himself,” Longley wrote in her report.
However, Longley noted that confidential informants identified the suspect as Davis, who also goes by the street name “Savage.” They gave officers a description of Davis, including his clothing and said he had been spotted running behind the park with a baby.
Officer Dawn Rice wrote that she received a similar description from informants. She explained that moments before the incident, an informant riding a bicycle through the park saw Davis wearing clothing matching witnesses’ descriptions and carrying his daughter in a blue baby carrier.
Police found Davis at the Cahill Apartments on Fruit Street after Officer Thomas Briotta spotted him in the area. Davis admitted to stabbing Williamson in self-defense, adding that he threw the knife into a wooded area near a handicap ramp at the back of the park, Rice wrote.
“At that time, Davis still had his daughter secured in the blue carrier on his back. I spoke with Davis, who appeared visibly upset and had tears in his eyes. Davis repeatedly stated that he was going to lose his daughter,” Rice wrote. “Davis stated that Williamson and two other males had threatened to beat him up. Davis stated that Williamson grabbed him by the shirt and that he was in fear for himself and his daughter.”
In police custody, Davis told Detective Benjamin Beaver that he was sitting near the Academy of Music with his daughter when Williamson, who was smoking marijuana, approached him. Davis told police that he asked Williamson not to smoke in front of his 7-month-old daughter, prompting threats from Williamson.
“Williamson proceeded to become upset with Davis and began to make threats to knock him out. Davis told Williamson to leave him alone. At some point, Davis stated that Williamson threatened to shoot him with a gun he had nearby,” Beaver wrote, describing his interview with Davis.
Beaver’s report went on to describe Davis’ account of the incident, noting that the suspect told police two other men, who were friends of Williamson, approached him before Williamson grabbed Davis by the front of his shirt and pinned him against the wall near the side door of the Academy of Music.
“Davis believed Williamson was about to strike him. Davis indicated that because it was three-on-one and Williamson not only threatened to shoot him but knock him out, he was in fear for his life and for the safety of his seven-month-old baby, who was now just on the steps in front of him,” Beaver wrote. “Davis stated that he reached into his right pocket, pulled out a knife and stabbed Williamson. Williamson let go, and Davis ran.”
After closing Pulaski Park for the investigation, police located a black sheath near the handicap ramp, as well as a knife that was located approximately three feet away with its blade stuck in the ground.
Detective Lt. Timothy Salkowski wrote that he met Williamson at Baystate Medical Center at approximately 4:15 p.m. Saturday and was advised that the wound “did not enter [Williamson’s] chest cavity or cause internal damage.”
When hospital staff finished dressing Williamson’s wound, Salkowski attempted to speak with him, but wrote that the victim still refused to name the man who stabbed him.
“I attempted to speak with Williamson about what had happened and who had stabbed him,” Salkowski wrote. “Williamson stated ‘I don’t know who did it. I don’t know nothin.’ Williamson then rolled over and would not talk to me.”
Davis is expected to appear back in Northampton District Court Wednesday morning for a pretrial conference.
