BOSTON – A firearm arrest led to a chaotic scene last month where police officers were surrounded and attacked, resulting in the arrest of a 19-year-old charged with assaulting a state trooper, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced today.
Dashaun James, 19, of Dorchester, was arraigned in Roxbury Municipal CourtMonday on charges of assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct. Judge David Breen released James on personal recognizance, with a pre-trial hearing scheduled for May 2.
The 17-year-old was charged with illegal possession of a firearm in Boston Juvenile Court earlier this month and held on $2,500 bail.
According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, the incident began around 3 p.m. on February 27 when Boston Police officers from the Youth Violence Strike Force, along with Massachusetts State Police Gang Unit members, arrested a 17-year-old near Washington Park Mall, an area frequently linked to reports of gun violence and illegal firearms.
As officers approached the teen, a second juvenile fled the scene while clutching his waist. Police recovered a loaded Glock 19 from the first juvenile’s left jacket pocket and later found a second loaded firearm while searching the area where the second juvenile had fled.
An hour later, at 4 p.m., police responded to reports of a person with a gun and shots fired near Malcolm X Park. Officers spotted a suspect matching the description entering a vehicle with two unidentified males on Martin Luther King Boulevard.
Shortly after, officers patrolling the area spotted an individual matching the suspect’s description entering a vehicle with two unidentified males on Martin Luther King Boulevard. When police approached the vehicle, a struggle ensued, during which a state trooper was assaulted and knocked to the ground. As the altercation escalated, approximately 20 people surrounded the officers.
Additional Boston Police units were called to assist. Upon arrival, officers found members of the Boston Police Youth Violence Strike Force and Massachusetts State Police encircled by a large group. The crowd physically interfered with the officers as they attempted to arrest the resisting suspect, pulling at their clothing and trying to pull the suspect away while ignoring repeated commands to step back, the DA’s office said.
Once the suspect was restrained, a man, later identified as James, continued circling the scene, recording officers with his cell phone and ignoring commands to move back, according to the DA’s office. Video evidence and witness reports later confirmed that James had punched, kicked, and placed a trooper in a headlock earlier in the altercation, causing lacerations to his eyebrow and nostril.
Two additional juveniles involved in the altercation have been identified and will be arraigned at a later date, the Suffolk County DA’s office said. Authorities are continuing to investigate others who may have been involved.
“This was an extraordinary violation of civic order and a willful, reckless assault on the very people tasked with securing peace and safety in our neighborhoods,” DA Hayden said. “These troopers and officers found themselves in a violent and dangerous situation and proceeded to handle themselves with the highest level of professionalism.”
