Freshman Arrested for Alleged Assault

hile many students devoted the night before move-out to packing their suitcases, one freshman spent his last night in Cambridge packed within the confines of a jail cell.

Police arrested Christopher T. Kelley ’08 for allegedly striking another student in the face following a dispute outside of the Harvard Book Store last Saturday, May 28th, according to Harvard University Police Department Spokesman (HUPD) Steven G. Catalano.

The victim, John L. Durant ’05, confirmed yesterday his role in the incident, but declined to comment further.

Kelley, the alleged assailant, did not return repeated requests for comment yesterday.

The 21-year-old freshman was reportedly part of a mob that was causing a big disturbance on the corner of Plympton Street and Mass. Ave, said Catalano, when police arrived at the scene.

“Officers observed a large group of individuals involved in a verbal altercation,” Catalano said. “After several minutes, most of the individuals had left the area and quieted down. As the last few individuals were leaving the area, one officer observed one male strike another male in the face with his fist.”

Durant sustained a laceration to the face and was transported via ambulance to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for treatment. Kelley, a North Carolina native, was taken into custody on charges of assault and battery.

The blow Kelley delivered was unprovoked and abrupt, Catalano said, since it came after the commotion had nearly died down.

“Everyone was walking away—this individual struck someone in front of these officers and that’s why he was arrested,” he added. “The College has a zero-tolerance policy for violence between students.”

But when Kelley retold the night’s events to his Canaday Hall roommates the following morning, friend Jack F. Pararas ’08 said Kelley claimed that he had been attacked first.

“He just basically told me about some guys [who] got into problems with [him],” Pararas said. “[A guy] attacked him and he took a swing and that was when the cops came.”

He added that Kelley, who took a year off before attending college to play semi-professional hockey with the U.S. hockey league, is not the confrontational type, unless provoked.

“He’s not a violent person,” Pararas said. “He doesn’t attack people—it’s not in his nature.”

—Staff writer Robin M. Peguero can be reached at peguero@fas.harvard.edu.