Page 14 - Trooper Fall 2021

Legislation for Trooper Thomas Clardy Law Refiled

Two years after a judge found David Njuguna, the driver who killer Trooper Thomas Clardy on the Massachusetts
Turnpike in 2016, guilty of driving under the influence of marijuana, Governor Charlie Baker announced the
refiling of legislation to address drivers who may be
impaired by marijuana or THC. Governor Baker
stated, “This bill would recognize drug recognition
experts under state law, and allow them to testify as
expert witnesses in civil and criminal cases.”
Currently, cases where a driver is charged with
operating under the influence of narcotics, the drug
recognition expert is not allowed to testify, making
it exceptionally difficult to obtain a conviction, even
in cases where the effects of drugs on an operator has
been notably detailed in an arrest report.
Members of SPAM had the honor of supporting the
Clardy Family at the press conference.

“There will always be a feeling of

emptiness without Tom here, an
emptiness that will never be filled.”

- Reisa Clardy

Trooper Newsletter Page 13