Man Charged In Death Of Waltham Police Officer, National Grid Worker Held On Bail

WALTHAM, MA — The man charged in the deaths of Waltham police officer Paul Tracey and National Grid employee Roderick Jackson will remain behind bars after a court appearance on Thursday.

Peter Simon, 54, of Woodsville, New Hampshire, was operating a pickup truck eastbound on Totten Pond Road in Waltham when he pulled to the side of the road and suddenly turned back into the roadway in an attempt to execute a U-turn, the Middlesex District Attorney said at the time.

He struck a vehicle traveling eastbound, then continued driving forward for approximately a quarter mile before fatally striking Tracey and Jackson, officials said.

Simon is charged with manslaughter and several other charges. His lawyers asked that he be released to home confinement with GPS monitoring, but a judge declined that request.

Tracey was working a police detail at a National Grid work site at the time of the crash, which also injured two other National Grid employees.

After striking the victims Simon continued on, striking multiple other vehicles before abandoning his truck and fleeing on foot, officials said. When he encountered another Waltham officer who had responded to the scene, Simon allegedly pulled a knife on them before stealing his police cruiser and again fleeing, officials said.

He crashed the cruiser on Winter Street, and fled once again. He was apprehended and arrested by a Waltham Police Officer after a brief foot chase.

The family of Roderick Jackson issued a statement through their family attorney, Thomas Flaws, of Shunnarah Trial Attorneys, on Thursday.

It is included below here:

"First, the family of Roderick ‘Kito’ Jackson wishes to thank the entire Boston community for the overwhelming show of support over the past weeks. The family has been very closely monitoring the proceedings against Peter Simon, the driver who took Kito’s life. The family would like to thank the Waltham Police and the Middlesex County District Attorney for their hard work; the family is pleased with the Court’s decision today to deny bail to Mr. Simon. At this point, no civil lawsuit has been filed but one is imminent. The family is working to finalize the appointment of a Personal Representative for Kito’s estate and anticipates that one will be appointed in the coming days. Once established, the family plans to file a lawsuit immediately and begin the search for answers on how this senseless tragedy could have taken the life or their beloved Kito."