Real Life Somerville Police Stories:Kevin RODRIGUEZ (A&B +60/Disabled, Resisting Arrest)

On August 30, 2019 at about 11:10 AM, Officer Ribeiro (East 4) and I (Officer Mark Nevin / West 5) were dispatched to 3XX Highland Avenue in response to a report of an unwanted man. I was flagged down upon my arrival by the reporting party (XXXX). The following is a summary of the incident:

XXXX woke up this morning and found an uninvited guest (Kevin Rodriguez) sleeping alone in his son’s room. XXXX only vaguely knew the man by sight as a friend of his son’s. He told the man to leave, which he did. A little while later XXXX began working as the apartment complex manager and came across Mr. Rodriguez lingering in the apartment’s parking lot. XXXX told Mr. Rodriguez to leave the area, but Mr.Rodriguez began yelling obscenities and punched XXXX in the chest. Mr. Rodriguez retreated and called the police.

Mr. Rodriguez was located in the apartment building’s outdoor recreation area while urinating. Mr. Rodriguez realized my presence once he turned around. He immediately wanted to know my purpose. I said, “Why don’t you tell me what happened?” He responded that he was not doing anything, just hanging out. I explained that we were there to investigate what happened. Mr. Rodriguez continued to be evasive, so I told him that we were there in response to a report that he punched XXXX, which he immediately denied and continued to say, “Do I look like I just came out of an apartment?” His manner became more agitated and defensive, and said that we were not going to arrest him. I told him that he is merely being detained during our investigation, but he became more aggressive. Based on his statements and demeanor, I decided that it would be in everyone’s best interest to restrain Mr. Rodriguez in handcuffs.

Mr. Rodriguez immediately and vigorously resisted our efforts to place him in custody. Using my department issued pepper spray, I released a short burst directly in his face, but he continued to resist our efforts. We struggled to force him to the ground and restrain him. During the struggle we all fell to the pavement. Mr. Rodriguez fell and struck his face on the pavement, I smashed my forearm on the pavement and injured my leg. After the protracted struggle, Mr. Rodriguez was finally placed in handcuffs.

Mr. Rodriguez was transported to the station in the prisoner transport wagon by Officer Rivera. Once Mr. Rodriguez was placed inside the wagon he attempted to move his hands from behind his back to the front, but the handcuffs got hung up on his feet and began to scream that the handcuffs were too tight. I had double-locked the handcuffs, so it appeared that the tightness was caused by pressure he applied while attempting to move his hands. Officer Rivera assisted Mr. Rodriguez untangle himself. Mr. Rodriguez continued to behave tumultuously while in route to the station. Officer Rivera notified dispatched and activated the wagon’s emergency equipment to expedite the transport.

Mr. Rodriguez was booked by Lt. DiGregorio for the following:
A & B 60+
Resisting Arrest

Additionally, Mr. Rodriguez was cited for possessing marijuana in public and for urinating in public. The marijuana was submitted to the property room for destruction.

XXXX was strongly advised to immediately apply for a restraining order before Mr. Rodriguez is transferred to court, so that the restraining order could be served by the court to Mr. Rodriguez prior to his release.

Mr. Rodriguez and I were treated by EMS after he was booked.

Respectfully submitted by,

Officer Mark Nevin #300
Somerville Police Department
Somerville, MA