Wakefield Man Charged With Assaulting 7 Revere Police Officers

REVERE (CBS) -- A Wakefield man was held on high bail Tuesday after allegedly knocking out one Revere police officer before assaulting six more in a bizarre overnight rampage.

Revere police say the violent sequence of events started started early Tuesday morning when an officer working a detail on Revere Beach Parkway noticed a car going too fast.

The officer stepped forward to tell the driver to slow down, and the car pulled over. That's when police say 34-year-old Joseph Parker, of Wakefield, got out of his car with his arms flailing, yelling that he was videotaping the officers and knew why he was being stopped.

Parker also reportedly made references to Ferguson, where protests have gathered for demonstrations one year after an unarmed black teenager was fatally shot by police.

Police say Parker then punched an officer, who hit his head on the concrete and likely suffered a concussion. He was taken to Boston Medical Center and later released.

Parker continued to fight with officers after he was put in a police cruiser, authorities say, and removed his shoes to try and break the cruiser's back window. Police said they deployed a taser on Parker five times but it had little effect.

Once Parker was brought to department headquarters, police said he began to show signs of remorse but then assaulted several more officers. One officer's leg was badly injured in the struggle and he was also hospitalized, police said.

Parker appeared to be under the influence of drugs, a police report stated.

A not guilty plea was entered for Parker on a "laundry list" of charges, including multiple counts of assault and battery on a police officer. He was held on $25,000 cash bail after appearing in Chelsea District Court Tuesday.

Parker's lawyer said he may have been having a reaction to medication.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Lana Jones reports: 

In:
• Revere Police
• Karen Twomey