A Massachusetts woman is facing numerous charges after she allegedly unleashed a hive full of bees on sheriff's deputies, some of them allergic to bee stings, as they tried to serve an eviction notice in Longmeadow last week.
The Hampden County Sheriff's Office said they were dealing with an eviction on Memery Lane in Longmeadow on Oct. 12 when Rorie Susan Woods, 55, of Hadley, arrived in her SUV towing a flatbed with multiple manufactured bee hives and began trying to open the lids on the bee hives to unleash them. She was among several protesters who met the deputies when they arrived at the property.
When she was told that several officers were allergic to bees, she said “Oh, you’re allergic? Good,” according to the official department report.
A sheriff's deputy tried to stop her, but as the agitated bees started circling the area, he pulled back. Woods then smashed the lid and flipped a hive off the flatbed, making the bees "extremely aggressive." The bees swarmed the area and stung several officers and other bystanders in the area.
Get San Diego local news, weather forecasts, sports and lifestyle stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC San Diego newsletters.
Woods then put on a beekeeper's suit to protect herself as she carried a tower of bees near the front door of the home in an effort to stop the eviction, which the sheriff's office said has been "stop-and-go" for almost two years.
After she carried a bee hive close to the front door of the home, the sheriff's office said Woods tried to agitate the bees further, and was arrested by sheriff’s deputies and taken to the Western Massachusetts Regional Women’s Correctional Facility.
She is now facing four counts of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, three counts of assault by means of a dangerous weapon and one count of disorderly conduct. She was arraigned last week and released without bail.
U.S. & World
Her lawyer didn't immediately respond to a voicemail left Wednesday.
The Hampden County Sheriff's Office said its Civil Process Division typically serves hundreds of eviction notices each year.
“Never in all my years of leading the Hampden County Sheriff’s Civil Process Division have I seen something like this,” Robert Hoffman, chief deputy of the Civil Process Division, said in a statement. “I’m just thankful no one died because bee allergies are serious. I hope that these out-of-county protesters will reconsider using such extreme measures in the future because they will be charged and prosecuted.”
“We are always prepared for protests when it comes to evictions, but a majority of the groups who protest understand that we are just doing our statutory duty in accordance with state law,” Sheriff Nick Cocchi added. “But this woman, who traveled here, put lives in danger, as several of the staff on scene are allergic to bees. We had one staff member go the hospital and luckily he was alright or she would be facing manslaughter charges. I support people’s right to protest peacefully, but when you cross the line and put my staff and the public in danger, I promise you will be arrested.”
No information was released on Woods' connection to the property in Longmeadow, a town of about 16,000 residents located just south of Springfield near the Connecticut border.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
