House Tutor Arrested for Assault

A resident tutor in Kirkland House was arrested Nov. 20 for domestic abuse by the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD).

Police arrested 25-year-old Brian M. Lawrence, a Ph.D. student in chemistry, after his wife called the police during a domestic dispute, according to Kirkland House Master Tom Conley.

No one was physically injured in the dispute and the case has since been dropped.

Conley said that due to the circumstances and nature of the dispute, Lawrence will not face any disciplinary action from the University or the court system.

“[The incident] was a tempest in a teapot. It was much ado about nothing. Nothing happened to anyone, there was really no willful action to hurt anyone and this was very clearly stated by both parties,” Conley said.

Lawrence said the incident “was a misunderstanding blown out of proportion” and declined to comment further.

According to Conley, the dispute occurred right before dinner, while one of the two was cooking and the other was feeding their children.

“The kids were crying, some food was burned, an object flew and they didn’t know what they were doing,” Conley said. “Things went amuck at a moment of early evening stress.”

Conley said Lawrence’s wife then panicked and called the police, but shortly afterwards tried to retract her report.

Based on his familiarity with the couple, Conley said he had no reason to believe the incident was anything more than an “overreaction.”

“Their contributions to the House are simply wonderful. I felt given the way they acted and their own overreaction to things, we shouldn’t make anything of it,” Conley said.

HUPD spokesperson Steven G. Catalano said he could not comment on the specifics of the arrest.

“Unless there’s a threat to public safety, the police department prefers not to comment on domestic violence cases,” Catalano said.

—Staff writer Jenifer L. Steinhardt can be reached at steinhar@fas.harvard.edu.