The Boston College Police Department (BCPD) arrested a temporary BC Dining Services employee in the Rat on Monday afternoon after he struck an officer responding to a call about him being in a state of mental distress, according to University Spokesman Jack Dunn.
“The individual was taken to Newton-Wellesley Hospital where he was held overnight for a psychiatric evaluation,” Dunn said. “The officer sustained minor injuries as a result of the incident.”
Cate Cheevers, MCAS ’23, was one of several students who witnessed the incident. She was sitting at a table with her friends in the dining hall when they noticed a shirtless man around the entrance of the cafeteria. After a few minutes, she said, he put on a BC Dining shirt and entered the food serving area.
Approximately five minutes later, Cheevers saw a police officer walk by and enter a back hallway adjacent to the food serving area.
“We had a perfect view into the back corner where the panini presses are … and all of the sudden we see this cop just taking down this guy, and it was the guy who had his shirt off,” Cheevers said. “Then another cop comes in, and they’re both dealing with him, literally putting him in handcuffs, and he’s kind of fighting and resisting them.”
Thomas Dejong, MCAS ’23, and Luke Welch, CSOM ’23, also saw the incident.
“And we just see them in that back area just putting handcuffs on this man, and he was on the ground,” Welch said. “It didn’t look like he had shoes on.”
Officers struggled to restrain the man for a few more minutes and a couple of BC Dining workers helped the police officers, Cheevers said. What Cheevers believed to be an EMT then brought a restraining chair to restrain the man.
“It was this bright orange chair, and they had him in it and basically clipped his hands to that, wrapped him in this jacket thing that held him down to the chair, and then pushed him out the back door,” she said.
Featured Image by Madeleine Romance / Heights Editor
