An Oath Violated:

FORMER STATE TROOPER SENTENCED FOR OXYCONTIN ROBBERIES

CAMBRIDGE -- Calling himself "an anomaly," former state trooper
Christopher Shields who pleaded guilty yesterday to robbing five
pharmacies, said his crimes should not spoil the public's opinion of
police.

"I'm not representative of other police officers," said Shields, 43,
of Framingham. "I think of what I did everyday. I dedicated my career
and I took my oaths to defend the people I victimized."

Judge Charles Grabau sentenced Shields to 10 to 12 years in state
prison on two counts of armed robbery, three counts of unarmed robbery
and five counts of placing a person in fear during a felony.

"Any sentence imposed is not to punish your addiction to OxyContin,
it's for your violent crimes," Grabau said before he handed down the
sentence.

Shields, arrested on Feb. 4, 2003, admitted to armed robberies at a
CVS in Natick and a Brooks Pharmacy in Wayland. He also admitted to
three unarmed robberies -- at the Wayland Brooks Pharmacy, the CVS on
Franklin Street in Framingham and a CVS in Natick.

In court yesterday, two of the pharmacists Shields robbed told how the
experience changed them.

Barclay Wadas, the pharmacist at the Wayland Brooks, said she threw up
when she found out the man who stuck a gun inches from her face on her
32nd birthday on May 21, 2002, was a trooper.

"My heart races and I'm filled with fear when someone hands me a
prescription," said Wadas. "What was so disgusting and vile about what
he did was he took the same oath (as other officers). He deserves more
(punishment) than most."

Shelley Philbrick, the pharmacist at the Framingham CVS robbed on Jan.
16, 2003, said fear prevents her from going to work on time and being
the first to open the pharmacy while alone.

"I want to be able to tell my legitimate OxyContin customers they can
have their medicine in 10 minutes instead of 24 to 48 hours," said
Philbrick. "I'm not here to ask you to punish Christopher Shields the
state trooper. I'm here to ask you to punish Christopher Shields the
criminal."

Essex First Assistant District Attorney John Dawley recommended the
10- to 12-year sentence, followed by 10 years of probation as part of
a plea agreement. The Essex district attorney's office handled the
prosecution because Shields was once assigned to the Middlesex
District Attorney's office as a homicide investigator.

Shields' attorney, Michael Brennan, did not argue the assistant DA's
recommendation.

"I think it's an understatement to say this is a difficult day for
everyone," said Brennan. "He's accepting responsibility for his
actions and he understands the pain he has caused to others -- the
victims, his family, his mother, his estranged wife and his two young
daughters that he hasn't seen in over a year.

"The sentence that is being imposed is considerable, but is
appropriate," continued Brennan. "A 10- to- 12-year sentence for a
police officer is different than 10 to 12 years for someone else."

Shields turned to crime after becoming addicted to the opiate-based
painkiller OxyContin.

In July 2001, Shields was injured when he fell off a 12-foot tall
catwalk onto a cruiser, suffering back and knee injuries. Doctors
prescribed him OxyContin, Brennan said.

Dawley said during the Framingham robbery, Shields told the pharmacist
he was a state trooper.

"He said, 'Look, state cop, I know the safe isn't open yet, give me
all you got,'" Dawley quoted Shields as saying.

In the five robberies, Shields got a total of 1,278 OxyContin pills of
various dosages, Dawley said.

Shields' arrest for the five robberies, plus an additional pair in
Nashua, N.H., came after a Jan. 30, 2003, shoplifting arrest in Sudbury.

Dawley said store employees called police after they saw Shields
shoplifting several items. Dawley said police discovered he had taken
seven DVDs, four magazines, a VHS tape, two bottles of Coke and three
newspapers worth a total of $168.

"He explained who he was, that he was a state trooper," Dawley said.
"They asked for proof, and he gave them permission to go to his
vehicle. In there, while looking for the identification, they found a
prescription-type bottle with a straw through the top."

Drug users will grind up OxyContin and snort it so they can get a
heroin-like high, police have said.

Police obtained a search warrant and found several pieces of clothes
at Shields' Dinsmore Street home that matched the description in
several robberies. Pharmacists at each store identified a photo of
Shields as the man who robbed them, Dawley said.

Shields said he felt bad for what he had done.

"I think Ms. Wadas said it all -- I agree with everything she said,"
said Shields. "I'm sorry. I can't think of anything to say, except I'm
sorry. It's been on my mind every moment of every day."

Since Shields has already been in custody for a year, he will only
have to serve nine to 11 years. It is not known where he will serve
his time. He will remain at the Middlesex County Jail in Cambridge for
a couple of weeks until security issues are worked out with the state
Department of Correction, Brennan said.

"It's a tragedy," said Brennan. "As the judge said, you don't see
signs that say 'We don't have Percocet,' or 'We don't have Vicadin.'
There's something different about OxyContin."