After Billerica Police Officer Killed, Massachusetts Safety Group Angers Contractor: ‘Blatant Disregard for Workplace Safety’

Sergeant. Ian Taylor was killed on a construction site last month. (Middlesex DA photo courtesy)

The contractor involved in the tragic incident that killed a Billerica police officer is being criticized by a leading workplace safety group for past OSHA violations and for “continued ignored and blatant disregard for workplace safety.”

Sergeant. Ian Taylor, 49, died while working on a road construction site in Billerica last month. He was hit by a reversing excavator on the construction site. Taylor was taken to Lahey Hospital, where he later died.

Following the police officer’s death, contractor N. Granese and Sons is cited for previous violations of non-compliance with excavation site regulations.

“Construction sites and traffic accidents clearly continue to pose a very real threat to workers as many employers like N. Granese & Sons, Inc. continue to ignore and blatantly disregard worker safety,” said Al Vega of the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH).

“We hope to honor Sergeant Taylor’s memory by raising awareness of these preventable incidents and continue to fight for companies to do more to prevent such tragedies in the future,” Vega added.

N. Granese and Sons was cited and fined for two OSHA violations related to excavation sites in the past five years.

One of those violations occurred at a location in Haverhill and resulted in a $4,000 settlement in 2019.

“Each employee on an excavation was not protected from collapse by an adequate protective system,” OSHA wrote of the violation.

Then in 2021, the contractor was again cited for violating this health and safety standard, this time in Newmarket, NH