Boston Police Officer Allegedly Assaults Harvard Student

BRIGHTON—A Harvard junior is alleging that a Boston Police Department (BPD) officer beat him up after arresting him about two weeks ago.

Although Garett D. Trombly ’03 has not filed formal charges, his attorney alleges that after Trombly was arrested for drinking alcohol in public, resisting arrest, and assault and battery on a police officer, he was brought back to the police station, where Sgt. Harry A. Byrne Jr. hit him repeatedly in the face, breaking his jaw.

Mariellen Burns, the director of the office of media relations for the BPD, said although no complaint had been filed against the officer who allegedly assaulted Trombly, BPD’s internal affairs division would be conducting a preliminary investigation into the allegations.

The night began at 2021 Commonwealth Avenue between Foster and South Streets, just outside the Boston College campus, on Sept. 9, a little after midnight. That, however, is as much as the two sides of the story have in common.

Byrne, the officer alleged to have assaulted Trombly, declined to comment, deferring to his superior, Cpt. William Evans. Evans’ office referred all calls to BPD’s public relations office, which declined to comment beyond Burns’ statement.

In a Boston Herald article Sept. 11, Evans, who commands the Allston-Brighton District, was quoted denying the allegations, saying, “Nobody was taken away by ambulance and nobody complained that he was beaten up.”

An incident report shows a more detailed police account of the night.

Police say Trombly, along with high school best friend and Boston College (BC) junior Thomas J. Davis, were drinking beer with friends outside of 2021 Commonwealth, Davis’ residence.

When Byrne approached the group and told them to leave, the police report says, Trombly spit and made offensive remarks as he walked away.

Trombly’s attorney, Andrew Good, speaking on his client’s behalf, denied this. Good insisted that his client would only comment through him.

The police report says Byrne then called for back-up and arrested Trombly. The report adds that Trombly “put his hands” on the officer during the arrest.

There is no other mention of violence in the police incident report, which simply says that Trombly was taken back to the station “and booked in the usual manner.”

But Good alleges that the manner in which his client was treated was far from usual.

“During [a]completely unprovoked attack, Trombly…suffered from a close-fisted blow to the head,” Good said.

Once he was released from the station, Trombly had himself admitted to a local hospital. Oral and maxillofacial surgeon Dr. Claude L. Fontaine of Arlington later diagnosed and treated Trombly for a broken jaw.

“His [jaws] are now ‘elasticked’ together,” Fontaine said. “He’s only eating liquids.” The doctor added that Trombly’s mouth would not heal for at least another six weeks.

Davis, who was also arrested in the incident and was present at the station, echoes his friend’s claims. From his vantage point inside the station—a nearby handrail where he was cuffed—Davis said he saw inside the room where 160-pound Trombly was allegedly attacked by the significantly larger Byrne while at least two other officers were present.

“[The police] left the door wide open,” Davis said. “I thought [Trombly] was going to get booked. I heard the sergeant say, ‘Don’t think I won’t kick your ass. You thought you were a tough guy out on the street. Let’s see how tough you are in here.’”

Davis said Byrne then threw a punch and connected with Trombly’s face. “So I yelled, ‘What the hell are you doing in there! Leave him alone!’ And the door shut,” Davis said.

Davis said that two other people were cuffed to the rail next to him at the time. The Crimson does not know the identities of either of those people.

Davis remembers that two more officers then ran up the ramp to which he was handcuffed, and entered the room with Trombly and the other officers. Davis said he could see inside when the door opened again, and “the sergeant had one hand around [Trombly’s] throat area.”

Good, speaking for Trombly, confirms what Davis saw.

“[The sergeant] grabbed [Trombly] about the throat and continued pummeling him,” Good said.

“Then the sergeant yelled, ‘Get your hands off of me!’” Davis said. “But I could hear Garett murmur, ‘I’m not touching you. I’m not touching you.”

Good, speaking for Trombly, says his client did not resist.

Davis said Byrne left the room and approached him.

“He got back in my face and said, ‘What are you yelling about? Didn’t you see what happened? Your friend assaulted me!’” Davis said.

Davis recalls the sergeant returning to the room, and moments later Trombly stumbling out. “They brought him out, stunned,” Davis said. “He was bleeding in the corner of his mouth, with blotchy red marks all over his face. He wasn’t crying, but his eyes were all watery.”

Trombly’s booking record has “none” written in the space marked “visible injury.”

BPD Rules and Procedures state thatprisoners in custody are to be examined for injury and given medical assistance as needed.

Protocol also specifies that handcuffs should not be removed “except for the purpose of fingerprinting, writing on forms as may be required or when absolutely necessary.”

Good confirms that “when [Trombly] was struck, his hands were behind his back uncuffed.” But Good maintains that his client did not attempt to defend himself.

When his friend was re-cuffed to the ramp next to him, Davis says he asked him, “What the hell did they do to you?” to which Trombly mumbled, “I think my jaw’s broken.”

From that point, Davis said, Trombly only communicated with gestures.

Now, both Good and Davis’ attorney, John G. Swomley, are challenging the charges against their clients.

Davis was arrested for drinking publicly, underage drinking, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Good and Davis claim that Trombly and Davis were not drinking in front of 2021 Commonwealth when Byrne pulled up.

“Numerous witnesses will testify that the charges that Boston police officers have filed against Garett Trombly are baseless,” Good said.

Swomley called the police account of the incident “ridiculous.”

Although Davis said two or three of the members of the group of about 17 students were drinking from Dixie cups, none of them were arrested.

One of the members of that group, BC sophomore Maureen “Mo” Leahy, was the police officers’ initial focus, according to both Davis and Leahy.

Leahy said as the group was walking to a nearby T station, Byrne pulled up next to her and the group—recognizing Leahy, a six-foot four blonde basketball player, from a sweep he had made the night before.

“He started screaming at me. ‘You, the big blonde!’ and then started yelling and cursing at me,” Leahy said. “Then he said, ‘You [expletive] drunk! I should have arrested your ass last night!’”

Davis recalls the barrage lasting 30 to 45 seconds, with Byrne calling Leahy “a drunk,” “stupid,” “a loser,” and telling her she “belongs in [Alcoholics Anonymous] meetings.”

“She started to cry and I put my arm around her and said, ‘You don’t have to listen to him,’ Davis said. “But the sergeant was like, ‘Don’t make me get out of this car! I could kick your [expletive] ass! All you BC kids are the same.’”

Davis said the sergeant then got out of the cruiser.

“He got in my face, chest to chest, nose to nose, trying to piss me off. I explained our business and [the officer] returned to his vehicle.”

However, the students say they then noticed the officer following them on their walk down Commonwealth Avenue. Davis recalls that members of the group then made offensive comments to the officer for pulling over just to make Leahy cry.

When the group of students reached an intersection at South Street, a second squad car cut in front of them.

In his report, Byrne said he arrested Trombly.

But Davis and Good say two more officers came out and, following the orders of the sergeant, arrested Trombly, pinning him to the front hood of the second cruiser. Good claims that his client said nothing in the process and did not resist. By the students’ account, prior to his arrest, Trombly had not even directly exchanged words with any of the officers.

In the midst of the commotion, Davis said he approached Byrne.

“I said, ‘What did [Trombly] do? I want to file a complaint! How do I do that? How do I bail him out?’” Davis said. “The sergeant said, “Oh, so you wanna be a wise guy?’ and arrested me.”

Both students were placed in the back of the other officers’ cruiser and taken back to the station. Davis recalls one of the two officers saying, “Sergeant’s pretty pissed off tonight. I wouldn’t [expletive] with him.”

The day after the arrests, Davis said, a police cruiser passed slowly by his home once every five minutes. And while taking a walk with a friend that day, he saw two cruisers parked at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Foster Street, less than half a block from his home.

Davis said these frequent passings only stopped when Swomley brought them to the attention of the court the next day at the arraignment.

According to a BPD press release, the Trombly and Davis arrests were grouped by the BPD under their “Cops in Shops” program that is aimed at deterring underage drinking.

Trombly is of legal drinking age.

Several television news agencies, including WCVB Channel 5, were present at the arraignment of more than 30 students in the Brighton Municipal Courthouse on Sept. 10. A staffer at WCVB’s assignment desk said they picked up the story after receiving a BPD release.

“These sweeps are all orchestrated to have a public relations strategy,” Good said. “They grab a lot of people, and try to deter underage drinking. But several people got arrested who did nothing. This is an abuse.”

At his arraignment, Trombly pleaded not guilty.

Trombly’s next court date is Oct. 25.

—Staff writer Joseph P. Flood contributed to the reporting of this article.

—Staff writer Justin D. Gest can be reached at gest@fas.harvard.edu.