On 1/26/2018, I (Officer Devin Schneider) was in full uniform while assigned to marked cruiser East-1 during the 8am-4pm shift. The following report is a summary of the events that I witnessed, as they pertain to incident #19004714:

At approximately 11:00am I responded to the Dunkin Donuts (220 Broadway) for a report of a fight involving a possible knife. Upon arriving, I observed a large crowd of people in the parking lot who had stopped to observe the commotion. A male known to me as Victor Rodriguez approached me, and stated that a he had just been in a fight with another male. Rodriguez is well known to me, and of all of my encounters with him he has never been in a state of sobriety. I observed as I spoke with Rodriguez that he appeared to be intoxicated by the effects of alcohol, evidenced by his slurred speech and the strong odor of alcohol emanating from his breath. Also on scene was another person known to me: Emma Wile.

According to Rodriguez, he had been in an altercation with a male in the Dunkin Donuts parking lot. Rodriguez alleged that the male had cut his sweatshirt with a knife. Rodriguez showed me an abrasion on his sweatshirt, that looked to me to be from wear and tear, not a cut that would be inflicted by a cutting instrument.

A witness approached me, identified as XXXX, who stated that she had taken a picture of the male who had fled the parking lot. I gave the description of the subject out over the radio, and a short time later was notified that Officer James Torres (Tango-9), And Officer Eddie Soares (East-2) had located the suspect at the intersection of Pearl Street and Jasper Street. I responded to that location where I met with the suspect, who was identified as XXXX. XXXX had been handcuffed by Officer Torres, and I read him his rights pursuant to Miranda. XXXX stated he did not understand those rights, because he did not speak English well. Officer Soares then translated the Miranda rights to XXXX in a language that he is fluent in: Portuguese.

I learned the following information from XXXX ‘s statements to me, translated by Officer Soares:
XXXX was in the area of Foss Park, across the street from Dunkin Donuts, when he witnessed a 30 year old Hispanic male who was verbally assaulting a 60 year old male. XXXX tried to stop the male from harassing the older male, at which point the male turned his attention towards him. An altercation broke out, and a group of 4 males plus a female surrounded him. The 30 year old male made threats to “kill” him. During the altercation, a female picked up a large stick, and struck him in the side with it. The female was described as a heavy white female, who usually hangs out in the area of Foss Park. The 30 year old male took a knife from another person on scene, and threatened him with it. XXXX fled across the street towards Dunkin Donuts while the group chased him. XXXX fear for his life, and armed himself with a broken piece of glass from the ground. XXXX then fled the area, until he was apprehended by the police.

I found XXXX ‘s statement to be sincere and believable. I removed XXXX ‘s handcuffs, then returned to Dunkin Donuts to investigate further. Upon arriving I spoke with Wile, who stated that XXXX had punched her in the face. I observed no signs of injury to Wile’s face or person. I then met with Officer Chris Fusco inside of Dunkin Donuts, who had been reviewing store video footage. I watched the playback of the video, where I observed the following:
XXXX is apparently fleeing from someone as he runs into the camera’s view in the Dunkin Donuts parking lot, followed by Wile. Wile charges at XXXX, and is joined shortly by Rodriguez. Rodriguez appears to have an object in his hand, which at some point he drops, then pick up again. Rodriguez brandishes the object in a way that suggests it is a weapon. Then XXXX appears to stand his ground a couple of times, but ultimately flees up Edmands Street. A third person appears on camera at one point, and the three chase XXXX up Edmands Street.

I learned that Officer Edna Dacosta (West-6) had spoken to a witness on scene, who identified himself as XXXX. XXXX stated that Rodriguez and another male had instigated the fight, and that Rodriguez had brandished the knife. XXXX further stated that prior to police arriving on scene, Rodriguez had handed the knife off to the third unidentified male, who left the area.

Rodriguez and Wile were both placed under arrest. Rodriguez was handcuffed by Officer Mark Nevin (West-5), and I placed Wile in handcuffs in a manner consistent with my training (double locked, checked for tightness.) I used two sets of handcuffs on Wile to accommodate her large frame. Officer Priscilla Ribeiro (West-7) performed the search incident to arrest of Wile.

Prisoner transport unit 200 arrived on scene, operated by Officer Michael Cleary to transport the prisoners back to the station. While Rodriguez was being placed in the back of the prisoner transport, he became combative and physically struggled with Officers. During the struggle, Rodriguez caused Officer Ashley Catatao (East-3) to be slammed against the frame of the unit-200 door. Additionally, Rodriguez kicked Officer Cleary in the left shin. Officer Catatao then sprayed Rodriguez with a burst from her department issued OC pray, in an attempt to control the prisoner. Rodriguez and Wile were transported back to the station, where they were booked in the usual manner by the Commanding Officer: Lt. Jeffrey Digregorio.

I will be charging Victor Rodriguez with the following violations of M.A. General Law:
-Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, to wit: knife
-Disorderly Conduct
-Resisting Arrest
-2 counts of Assault and Battery on a Police Officer

I will be charging Emma Wile with the following violations of M.A. General Law:
-Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon, to wit: stick
-Disorderly Conduct

Post arrest, it was learned from Rodriguez’s fingerprint results that he has been arrested under the name of XXXX, with an active arrest warrant out of Lynn. Lynn Police Department faxed a copy of his booking picture, which confirmed that Rodriguez was booked under the name of XXXX.

Respectfully submitted,

Officer Devin Schneider
Badge #295