Teen assaults cop at Breed

LYNN – A 14-year-old Breed Middle School student was arrested Tuesday for assault and battery on a police officer after he told Patrolman Timothy Donovan “(Expletive) you,” punched him in the face and stole his police radio at dismissal time, according to a police report.News of the assault comes as Mayor Edward Clancy announced at Thursday’s School Committee meeting that $458,915 will be cut from the police department’s budget.Patrolman Bob Ferrari, head of school security, informed Superintendent Catherine Latham that all school-stationed police officers except for him would be removed from the schools and placed back on street patrols as a result of the budget cut, Latham said at the meeting.According to police, Donovan was assaulted about 2:30 p.m. as he tried to disperse a crowd of 30 to 50 students.In the police report, Donovan said that usually six other staff members are present during dismissal time, but only two teachers were present on Tuesday due to an ongoing staff meeting.Donovan says he asked the suspect, identified in a report as a “constant problem,” to leave multiple times but the suspect became combative and was “showing off” in front of his friends.The suspect allegedly told one of his friends, “Run, run (expletive)” when Donovan told him to “watch your mouth.” The teen allegedly said something under his breath when Donovan asked the student for his name and ordered him to visit the principal’s office.The student responded by allegedly asking, “What the (expletive) for?”According to the report, at this point 30 students began to watch the impending confrontation.When the student was asked again to go inside the school building, the student allegedly said to the officer, “(Expletive) you (expletive), I ain’t going nowhere.”Donovan says the students began “hooting and hollering” and the situation grew into an unsafe environment. He attempted to arrest the 14-year-old for disorderly conduct when the student allegedly pulled his arm away and punched the officer in the face.Police say the officer grabbed hold of the boy’s arm and struggled with him. The suspect allegedly began pulling at Donovan’s jacket until it almost completely came off.Donovan says he was able to wrestle the suspect to the ground but he placed his hands under his chest so he was unable to handcuff him.The suspect was told numerous times to calm down and one of his friends even told him to “chill out,” the report said.The officer’s police radio had fallen from his pants during the struggle. A student handed it back to him as the fight continued. However, the suspect then picked up the radio and threw it so it was out of the officer’s reach, police said.Donovan says he was able to grab the radio a moment later and call for help. When he did so, the suspect allegedly threw a hunk of ice at him, striking him in the face.Finally, Donovan was finally able to handcuff him.As the officer tried to lead the suspect into the building, the teen allegedly tried to knock the officer over and kicked him in the shins three times.Once inside the building, additional officers arrived and assisted the situation.The unidentified suspect was charged with assault and battery on a police officer, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (shod foot) on a police officer, destruction of property (Donovan’s jacket) and resisting arrest.