Homeless man permanently banned from LongHorn Steakhouse in Leominster after he was hauled out by police and arrested

LEOMINSTER — On Friday, June 6, 2025, Officer Robert Connors of the Leominster Police Department was dispatched to LongHorn Steakhouse located at 227 N. Main Street following a report from a manager who wanted a man trespassed from the establishment.

(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Robert Connors and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)

When he arrived on scene, Officer Connors was met with the manager, Nicholas [last name redacted].

“Nicholas advised me that the night prior, a male party, who was later identified as Joe Thompson, had come into the restaurant and caused a disturbance,” Officer Connors said. “Nicholas advised me that Joe was currently inside the restaurant, and due to his actions the night before, he wanted Joe to leave.”  

According to police, Joe L. Thompson, 66, is homeless in Leominster, MA.  

“I went into the restaurant, where I encountered Joe sitting at the bar,” Officer Connors said. “I advised Joe that Nicholas wanted him to leave, and wished him trespassed from the restaurant. Joe became agitated at this point, stating that he had just ordered a drink and called Nicholas a ‘racist’ for asking him to leave.”

Officer Connors said that he told Thompson once again that he needed to leave the restaurant.

“Joe began to yell racial slurs and continued to call Nicholas and myself ‘racists,’” Officer Connors said. Adding, “At this time, Joe was purposefully creating a disturbance in order to garner the attention of other patrons at the restaurant. Multiple patrons and staff members had directed their attention to Joe and were watching the incident.”

Since Thompson refused to leave after ordering a drink and was intentionally yelling and causing a disturbance, Officer Connors informed him he was under arrest for disorderly conduct.

“After I told Joe this, he continued to argue with me about the fact that he was ‘not being disorderly,’” Officer Connors said.

Officer Connors then placed Thompson in handcuffs and double locked them in the front because Thompson said he couldn’t put his hands behind his back.

At this time, Officer Patrick Flory arrived on scene to assist.

“Nicholas then told Joe that he was trespassed indefinitely from LongHorn Steakhouse,” Officer Connors said. “I then attempted to escort Joe to my marked patrol car to transport him back to the station for booking. Joe stated that he needed help walking, so both Officer Flory and I grabbed each of his arms to support him as he walked. Joe immediately began to drop his weight, and intentionally made it difficult for Officer Flory and I to assist him to the cruiser, all the while yelling and continuing to insult officers.”

Officer Connors told Thompson that if he continued to drop his weight, he would be charged with resisting arrest.

“Joe stated that he needed his walker to walk to the cruiser, which I then allowed him to use,” Officer Connors said. “Utilizing his walker, Joe then stopped at the door and began to scream the N-word. This again attracted the attention of staff and patrons. Joe then stopped again and stated ‘get your hands off me’ as I attempted to stabilize him so he could exit the restaurant.”

Officer Connors reported that Joe stopped again and stated he was not being arrested for disorderly conduct and was not resisting arrest.

“At this time, I attempted to reason with Joe, and told him that if he would stop resisting and get into the cruiser for transport without further issue, I would only charge him with disorderly conduct,” Officer Connors said. “Joe again told me that was not disorderly, but walked to the cruiser. When Officer Flory and I attempted to have Joe get into the cruiser, he refused.”

Thomspon told the officers he had mobility issues and could not get into the cruiser without assistance.

“Both Officer Flory and I attempted to assist Joe into the cruiser,” Officer Connors said. “Every time we tried to help him, Joe began to scream and yell racial slurs and state that officers were ‘beating him.’ I informed Joe that if he did not get into the cruiser willingly, and continued to yell and not allow officers to assist him into the cruiser, I would charge him with resisting arrest. Joe continued to stiffen his legs and would not allow myself or Officer Flory to move his legs into the cruiser. Finally, Officer Flory and I were able to get his feet into the cruiser, but Joe left his foot in the door so that we could not close it. Every time we attempted to move his foot, he began to scream that we were hurting him, and would not move his foot. Officer Flory and I both attempted to reason with him multiple times, and asked him to allow us to help him into the cruiser, but Joe continued to not move his legs. Finally, Officer Flory was able to get his foot inside the cruiser enough to close the door. This encounter drew attention from guests leaving the restaurant, and people stopped to watch multiple times.”

Officer Connors then transported Thompson to the Leominster Police Department for booking.

“Joe was irate and continued to yell racial slurs in the back of the cruiser during transport,” Officer Connors said.

Thompson was charged with the following:

• Disorderly Conduct
• Resisting Arrest

“Joe Thompson was also trespassed indefinitely from LongHorn Steakhouse by the manager, Nicholas [last name redacted],” Officer Connors said.

Thompson was arraigned in Leominster District Court on June 6, 2025. Following his arraignment, he was released on $1,000 bail.

Thompson attended a pretrial conference on June 20, 2025. His next court date is a compliance and election hearing scheduled for July 17, 2025.

Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in June, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.

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