Marathon first responder cleared of assault charge

LYNN – A judge Wednesday dismissed a domestic assault charge against a city firefighter who earned national recognition after responding to the Boston Marathon bombings.Matthew Patterson, 31, pleaded not guilty to domestic assault and battery following an alleged disturbance at his home early on the morning of Nov. 1.Police responded to the home on a report of a woman trashing the apartment. The woman told police Patterson threw her to the floor and then grabbed her and threw her outside the apartment. Police noticed redness around the alleged victim’s neck and arrested Patterson, despite the woman’s objections.Patterson, an Army veteran and veteran firefighter, ran from a Boylston Street restaurant seconds after bombs exploded April 15, 2013 near the Boston Marathon finish line. With another man’s help, Patterson rushed an injured child to an ambulance. In a subsequent Item interview, Patterson also described his efforts to aid another child.Patterson subsequently learned the first child was Boston resident Jane Richard and the second child was her brother, Martin – one of three people killed in the bombings.Patterson received praise and attention from the Boston Red Sox, Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy, the City Council and other recognition in the bombings’ aftermath and was sought out for interviews by television programs with national audiences.Patterson appeared in Lynn District Court Wednesday morning for a scheduled bench trial, and Essex Assistant District Attorney Erin Bellavia said the Commonwealth was not ready to prosecute. Judge James Wexler accepted a defense motion to dismiss the case.Patterson declined to comment when reached Wednesday afternoon. He also faces a malicious destruction of property +$250 charge after allegedly punching a woman’s car in a Jan. 1 road-rage incident in Saugus. He is scheduled to return to court on that charge June 30.