Teens Charged With Attacking 2 Boston Police Officers
BOSTON (CBS) - Two Boston police officers ended up in the hospital after they were attacked by a group of teenagers, police said.
The officers, a man and a woman, went to an apartment building on Wayne Street in Dorchester Monday morning to serve a warrant on 19-year-old Woobenson Morisset for defaulting on court appearances.
Police Commissioner William Evans told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 when they were about to put handcuffs on Morisset, he yelled out and some nearby apartments emptied out.
Six teens attacked the officers, kicking them and punching them.
The officers did not draw their guns, but they did use pepper spray to fight the teens off until other officers arrived.
The teenagers, which included four girls, ranged in age from 13 to 18 years old.
They were arrested and charged with assault and battery on a police officer, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and resisting arrest.
Both officers were taken to the hospital with what was described as "non-life threatening injuries." They were treated and released.
At a news conference for First Night Boston security Tuesday, Evans said he visited both officers in the hospital and noted that they were "pretty banged up."
Their names have not been made public.
Evans called the attack "troubling."
All of the suspects were arraigned on Tuesday. Bail was set at $1 for the younger teens, with that amount to be posted only by their parents, according to the Suffolk District Attorney's office.
Judge Ernest Sarason released Lorcen Morisset and set Woobenson's bail at $500, ordered both to wear GPS monitoring devices, abide by curfews, and stay away from the victims, District Attorney Daniel Conley said.
"This case is a reminder of what police officers face every time they have to make an arrest, serve a warrant, or answer a call for help," Conley said in a Tuesday afternoon announcement.
Outside of court, Lorcen Morisset denied assaulting the officers. "There was like five or six police," Lorcen Morisset said. "I wasn't doing anything."
Two family members shot video of the incident on their cell phones before they were seized by police. "I am confident my client is innocent," Woobenson Morisset's attorney June Jensen said. "We'll see what the video tape tells us."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens contributed to this story.
You can follow Carl on Twitter at @CarlWBZ.
Listen to Carl's report:
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