Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Saturday, December 28, 2024

Drunken student assaults campus officer

What seemed to officers like just another off-campus disturbance report quickly became dangerous as an intoxicated Tufts student turned out to be a very nasty drunk.

A junior assaulted the Tufts University Police Department officer who tried to bring him into protective custody on the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 23. The student brought Officer Cheri Burton down to the ground in a violent fight and shouted racial epithets at her.

When other officers arrived, the student spat in their faces and used a variety of racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic insults. The Department is not allowed by law to release the student's name at this time.

Burton and Officer Eric Morales, along with several officers from Somerville, responded to a disturbance report at 185 College Avenue early Wednesday morning at approximately 1:50 a.m.

The officers arrived to find two obviously intoxicated individuals standing at the opposite side of the street from the house. One of them was wearing only one shoe, and it appeared as if they had been in an altercation.

One of the individuals tried to leave the scene, and Burton, who was concerned about his intoxication level, followed him.

Burton made contact with the student at the blue light emergency phone on Lower Campus Road. He immediately began yelling and using profanity, and Burton decided to take the individual into protective custody.

When she attempted to handcuff the student, he turned around, grabbed her by the hair and began pulling on her shirt. Burton and the student went down to the ground, where the student began punching her. He also shouted racial epithets, including "n--r," at Burton, who is African-American.

Burton and the individual struggled alone for about 45 seconds to a minute before the other officers, whom Burton radioed, arrived to assist her. The student ripped entire braids from Burton's head, and Burton sustained injuries to the head, back and ribs.

"This was a violent attack on an officer," Tufts University Police Sergeant Douglas Mazzola said.

When the other officers arrived and assisted Burton in detaining the student, the student spat in a Somerville Police Department officer's face and employed a string of insults ranging from racist to homophobic. He called the officers "fat faggots" and "fat f-ks" and called individual officers many others, from "Jew boy" to "you fat Italian-American f-k."

The student is being charged criminally with disorderly conduct, assault and battery of a police officer, and resisting arrest, the latter of which is a felony. He also faces judiciary investigation by the University, and other charges are being considered, possibly under state hate crime law.

Judicial Affairs Officer Veronica Carter and Dean of Students Bruce Reitman would only confirm that they "did receive a complaint from the Department of Public Safety" about the student and his behavior.

Reitman said the two had met with the student, and that the student will be making a response to the Department of Public Safety's allegations. The Student Judicial Process will be followed, he said.

Reitman and Carter said they plan to proceed with the case depending on how the student responds to the accusations brought against him.

Associate Dean of Students Marisel Perez, the coordinator of the Bias Intervention Team, has also been informed of the incident but was unavailable for comment.

The other student who had been across the street was fully cooperative with the police upon their arrival. He apologized for what had occurred, and, according to the officers, was polite and sincere.

Burton, a Night Patrol Officer, is currently on injury leave from the Department. Morales, an Evening Patrol Officer, had volunteered for overtime that night because a colleague was absent.


Trending
The Tufts Daily Crossword with an image of a crossword puzzle
The Print Edition
Tufts Daily front page