BOSTON —
Officers of the Boston Police Department were surrounded and doused with water by a crowd Tuesday afternoon while making an arrest of an armed suspect, officials said.
The officers were sent to the area of Cheney Street in Roxbury at approximately 5:40 p.m. Tuesday in response to a report of a person carrying a gun in a fanny pack. They followed Cheney Street toward Blue Hill Avenue, where they spotted a man wearing a fanny pack over his left shoulder.
Police said the man was later identified as Jermaine Thomas, 44, of Mattapan.
According to the department, Thomas physically resisted arrest, including grabbing and squeezing an officer's wrist. A crowd gathered during this time.
"As officers struggled to gain control, the suspect ripped his hands away and continued to resist by clinching his arms and pushing at officers causing a Body Worn Camera to be knocked off and picked up by an unknown bystander," department officials said.
Meanwhile, police said a nearby fire hydrant was opened. Water flowed onto the street and someone in the crowd threw buckets of water at the officers.
Officers of the Boston Police Department were surrounded and doused with water by a crowd Tuesday afternoon while making an arrest of an armed suspect, officials said.
The officers were sent to the area of Cheney Street in Roxbury at approximately 5:40 p.m. Tuesday in response to a report of a person carrying a gun in a fanny pack. They followed Cheney Street toward Blue Hill Avenue, where they spotted a man wearing a fanny pack over his left shoulder.
Police said the man was later identified as Jermaine Thomas, 44, of Mattapan.
According to the department, Thomas physically resisted arrest, including grabbing and squeezing an officer's wrist. A crowd gathered during this time.
"As officers struggled to gain control, the suspect ripped his hands away and continued to resist by clinching his arms and pushing at officers causing a Body Worn Camera to be knocked off and picked up by an unknown bystander," department officials said.
Meanwhile, police said a nearby fire hydrant was opened. Water flowed onto the street and someone in the crowd threw buckets of water at the officers.
Crowd surrounds, soaks police with water during firearm arrest, Boston police say
"I’m alarmed by the level of hostility my officers had to face while arresting a felon armed with an illegal firearm," Commissioner William Gross said.
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