There have been a number of interesting police stories in Brookfield this year, some with happy endings, others more tragic and somber, and still others that made us chuckle some. First, our Top 5 Cop stories from 2010, then, some honorable mentions that we just couldn't leave out.

First, our favorite police story from the year was a near-tragedy, with stories of heroism, near misses and national importance.

One of the first breaking stories we covered at Brookfield Patch was a report of an overturned truck on Federal Road in from of Costco. In April, a Toyota Tacoma apparently began accelerating out of control, finally coming to a stop on its side in the middle of the roadway. Despite a harrowing few minutes speeding down side streets, through parking lots and eventually going airborne into oncoming traffic on Federal Road, driver Freddie Perez and his son Jonathan in the passenger seat left the scene with only minimal injuries and, luckily, their lives.

Not only did this story ultimately have a happy ending, but two men who were almost struck by the runaway truck rushed to the scene to pull young Jonathan from the vehicle, though Freddie, trapped against the road, had to wait for the Jaws of Life to be extricated. After some medical attention, Jonathan was deemed fine and released; Freddie suffered some lacerations and broken glass embedded in his arm, but was otherwise unharmed.

Perhaps the most-read police story of 2010 was the arrest of a police dispatcher on charges of embezzlement for allegedly siphoning over $17,000 from the dispatcher-groundskeeper-clerical professionals union while serving as its president. Brookfield resident Douglas Fisher was arrested on the charges in April and pled 'not guilty' in Danbury Superior Court in May.

While the pre-trial hearings continued, the Board of Selectmen (BOS) moved to terminate Fisher's employment in June, claiming that he lied to town officials when questioned over the course of several interviews. Earlier this month, Fisher filed intent to sue the town for wrongful termination and defamation and has maintained his innocence since being charged.

Generally quiet Brookfield was shocked in August when a cadre of federal agents descended on a home on High Ridge Road, the residence of a Dr. Samir Zaky. Though neither the FBI nor the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) would confirm that their agents were on the scene, Don White, head of HHS-OIG Public Affairs, said the federal agency largely deals with Medicare and Medicaid and an agent on the scene intimated that they were investigating insurance fraud, but was unable to elaborate.

No arrests were made on that day and no charges have been filed against Dr. Zaky, though the agents could be seen removing boxes of files from the home.

Tragedy struck two Newtown families in July while they were enjoying an afternoon on Lake Lillinonah. While chasing after a floatation device that was drifting away, William Donovan disappeared under the water and wasn't found until the end of an exhaustive two-hour search.

According to Mark Streck, owner of the boat and close family friend of the Donovans, Donovan swam after the floatation noodle and, while the other three parents were concentrating on watching the children, he vanished below the surface. His body was eventually found tangled in milkweed 70 feet the shore by a state police sonar boat.

The coroner's report, issued two days later, concluded that Donovan's death was due to accidental drowning.

And though the last of our Top 5 actually took place in Newtown, an interesting Brookfield connection brought the story home.

A November fire leveled the home of the late Vicki Julian, longtime friend of Brookfield resident Stanley Lupienski, who was accused of shooting a Danbury Hospital nurse in March. The fire occurred only five days after Lupienski passed away due to complications from a major stroke he suffered a week previously.

The cause of the fire was not readily apparent, but a repairman how had stopped by the home a day earlier noted that someone seemed to have broken into the house earlier that week. In addition, Newtown Police stated that it seemed as though someone had siphoned off the heating oil as well.

As a further complication to this ongoing story, the Danbury Hospital nurse who was shot, Andrew Hull, filed his intent to sue the Newtown Police Department, who failed to find Lupienski's gun before taking him to the hospital in March.

Though most police stories tend to be solemn and grave, two blotter entries from 2010 made us smile.

In June, a Diversified Waste Disposal (DWD) truck got stuck beneath the Junction Road underpass, better known as Graffiti Bridge. The 12' 8" truck became wedged beneath the 12' 1" train overpass, requiring town Public Works crews to let the air out of the tires and pull the truck out.

The integrity of the bridge was not compromised and the driver declined to comment.

And finally, in October, Brookfield Police received calls about a pickup truck driving north on Federal Road on a flat tire. An investigation showed that the driver was traveling on two flat tires until both eventually came off their rims. He continued to drive on the rims for over a mile, passing by all of the parking lots north of Four Corner, and eventually pulled into the very last lot in Brookfield, just south of the New Milford line.

The driver, Karl Drentwett, of New Milford, was charged with driving under the influence.