Massachusetts Woman Charged For Unleashing Swarm Of Bees On Cops Serving Eviction Notice

A woman was charged with assault for unleashing a swarm of bees on deputies of the Hampden County Sheriff's Department in an attempt to hamper an eviction in Longmeadow, Massachusetts.

Rorie Susan Woods, 55, reached the scene of eviction on Memery Lane in an SUV towing a trailer with beehives at around 9:15 a.m. on Oct. 12, Masslive reported Wednesday.

Moments later, she opened the lids of the hives to release the bees. She then put on a professional beekeeper suit to protect herself, and carried a tower of bees to the front door of the home.

While one of the deputies attempted to stop Woods, bees began to circle the area, forcing him to back off, the Sheriff's Department said in a statement. Witnesses said Woods agitated the bees by smashing the lid and flipping a hive to disrupt the eviction, Boston25 said.

Several officers and innocent bystanders were stung in the incident.

"A Sheriff's deputy tried to stop her, but as the agitated bees started getting out and circling the area, he pulled back," officials said, as per Boston Globe. "She then smashed the lid, and flipped a hive off of the flatbed, making the bees extremely aggressive. They swarmed the area and stung several officers and other innocent bystanders who were nearby."

According to media reports, she was not the person being evicted from the house. However, more details about the eviction were not revealed. The motive behind Woods' actions were also not clear.

Sheriff Nick Cocchi said the lives of several deputies were put in danger by Woods as many of them were allergic to bees.

"We had one staff member go the hospital and luckily, he was alright or she would be facing manslaughter charges," Cocchi said, according to the outlet. "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."

The police arrested Woods and charged her with 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.

"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 Office, said, as per reports.

In the statement, the Sheriff's Department noted Woods was told some of the officers were allergic to bees, to which she replied: "Oh, you're allergic? Good."

Sheriff Cocchi also pointed out Woods could have faced more serious charges, including manslaughter, if anything worse had occurred to those stung by bees.