• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Subscribe
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Leadership
    • Smart power
      Can your staff keep pace with your leadership goals?
      Your agency needs you
      Pursuit termination option: Radiator disablement
      Liability — not always a showstopper!
  • Topics
    • Leadership
      • Smart power
        Can your staff keep pace with your leadership goals?
        Your agency needs you
        Pursuit termination option: Radiator disablement
        Liability — not always a showstopper!
    • Editor’s Picks
      • Mental health checks … in the training room?
        Crime doesn’t take a vacation
        The power of mediation
        Therapy isn’t just for the broken
        Police humor only a cop would understand
    • On the Job
      • The power of calm-edy
        Domestic violence
        Code Red, all hands on deck
        Texas manhunt captures suspect in shooting of officer and K-9
        “Wanna hop in?” Louisiana officer gets a lift from a good...
    • Labor
      • When you are falsely accused
        Is anyone listening?
        The power of mediation
        Differentiation in police recruitment
        Building positive media relations
    • Tech
      • Gear that moves with you
        A new breed of cop car
        The future of patrol is here
        New York governor highlights $24 million investment to modernize law...
        Cutting-edge police technology
    • Training
      • Effective in-service training
        The untrained trainer
        The vision behind precision
        Mentorship: Ensuring future success
        Unlocking innovation
    • Policy
      • New Mexico’s Law Enforcement Retention Fund keeps experienced,...
        The phenomenon of trauma bonding in law enforcement
        Betrayed from within
        Supreme Court declines to revive Missouri gun law
        Quotas come to the end of the road
    • Health/Wellness
      • Maintain your mental armor
        Beyond crisis response
        Mental health checks … in the training room?
        Surviving and thriving in retirement
        Fit for duty, fit for life
    • Community
      • Community engagement: What is it moving forward?
        Contradictory crossroads
        Back-to-school season brings out police support nationwide
        A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
        Operation Brain Freeze keeps community cool
    • Offbeat
      • An unexpected burglar
        Police humor only a cop would understand
        Not eggzactly a perfect heist
        Pizza … with a side of alligator?
        Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
    • We Remember
      • A Christmas loss
        York County ambush leaves three officers dead, others critically...
        Honoring the Fallen Heroes of 9/11
        Team Romeo
        National Police Week 2025
    • HOT Mail
      • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • On the Job
    • The power of calm-edy
      Domestic violence
      Code Red, all hands on deck
      Texas manhunt captures suspect in shooting of officer and K-9
      “Wanna hop in?” Louisiana officer gets a lift from a good...
  • Labor
    • When you are falsely accused
      Is anyone listening?
      The power of mediation
      Differentiation in police recruitment
      Building positive media relations
  • Tech
    • Gear that moves with you
      A new breed of cop car
      The future of patrol is here
      New York governor highlights $24 million investment to modernize law...
      Cutting-edge police technology
  • Training
    • Effective in-service training
      The untrained trainer
      The vision behind precision
      Mentorship: Ensuring future success
      Unlocking innovation
  • Policy
    • New Mexico’s Law Enforcement Retention Fund keeps experienced,...
      The phenomenon of trauma bonding in law enforcement
      Betrayed from within
      Supreme Court declines to revive Missouri gun law
      Quotas come to the end of the road
  • Health/Wellness
    • Maintain your mental armor
      Beyond crisis response
      Mental health checks … in the training room?
      Surviving and thriving in retirement
      Fit for duty, fit for life
  • Community
    • Community engagement: What is it moving forward?
      Contradictory crossroads
      Back-to-school season brings out police support nationwide
      A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
      Operation Brain Freeze keeps community cool
  • Offbeat
    • An unexpected burglar
      Police humor only a cop would understand
      Not eggzactly a perfect heist
      Pizza … with a side of alligator?
      Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
  • We Remember
    • A Christmas loss
      York County ambush leaves three officers dead, others critically...
      Honoring the Fallen Heroes of 9/11
      Team Romeo
      National Police Week 2025
  • HOT Mail
    • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
Search

Offbeat

Massachusetts woman unleashes swarm of bees on deputies serving eviction notice

APB Team Published October 31, 2022 @ 6:00 am PDT

iStock.com/ViktorCap

A Massachusetts woman is accused of releasing a swarm of bees on Hampden County Sheriff’s Deputies who were attempting to serve an eviction notice on October 19.

According to the sheriff’s department, the deputies serving the notice were confronted with a crowd of protesters gathered outside a home in the town of Longmeadow.

Police said protester Rorie S. Woods, 55, pulled up to the house in a truck carrying a trailer full of beehives, and that’s when the chaos unfolded.

Woods allegedly began to shake the containers with the hives and broke the cover off of one, causing a swarm of bees to attack the deputies who were fighting with Woods for control of the containers.

Woods, who was wearing a beekeeper’s suit for protection, started shaking one of the hives at the front door of the house, releasing more bees on the responding deputies.

Woods was eventually arrested, but not before a handful of deputies were stung. The arrest report noted that three police officers were allergic to bee stings.

When officers told Woods about the allergies, she replied, “Oh, you’re allergic? Good.”

Hampden County Sheriff Robert Hoffman said the incident was unusual.

“I’ve been doing this for 17 years. I try my best to size up the different situations we walk into each day. . . . It was Ms. Woods’s arrival with her vehicle and trailer that caused things to go haywire, if you will,” Hoffman said.

Woods pleaded not guilty at her arraignment and was released without bail. She was charged with four counts of battery and assault with a dangerous weapon.

Hoffman added that evictions do not usually lead to violent encounters.

“I would say the occasions of violence are rather rare. We like to chalk that up as due to our outreach and the relationship that we try to build with people who are on the cusp of being evicted,” Hoffman explained.

Woods could have potentially faced more serious charges if any of the officers had been seriously hurt.

One of the deputies who was allergic to bee stings was stung and had to be transported to a hospital, but was released later that day.

Categories: Offbeat Tags: protest, Massachusetts, assault, swarm of bees, Hampden County Sheriff’s Office, Rorie Woods, eviction notice, bee sting, hive, beekeeper

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • Effective in-service training
  • National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund Announces November 2025 Officers of the Month
  • When you are falsely accused
  • The untrained trainer
  • Maintain your mental armor
  • Smart power
  • The power of calm-edy
  • Can your staff keep pace with your leadership goals?
  • New Mexico’s Law Enforcement Retention Fund keeps experienced, certified officers in state
  • Domestic violence

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

Mental health checks … in the training room?

Mental health checks … in the training room?

November 25, 2025

Crime doesn’t take a vacation

Crime doesn’t take a vacation

November 21, 2025

The power of mediation

The power of mediation

November 20, 2025

Therapy isn’t just for the broken

Therapy isn’t just for the broken

November 14, 2025

Policies | Consent Preferences | Copyright © 2026 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.