A Massachusetts State Police trooper was allegedly assaulted over the weekend by a Cohasset teenager who has a “violent history towards police.”
During a traffic stop late Friday night, the 17-year-old boy is accused of punching the female trooper in the face — then pushing her away while shouting a swear at her, according to Mass State Police.
The trooper suffered facial injuries from the juvenile’s alleged punch, and the boy later turned himself in to police Sunday after a day and a half on the lam. He has been charged with assault and battery on a police officer, and resisting arrest.
“A trooper, on patrol by herself in the dead of night, approached a suspect with a criminal history who was known to be violent toward police,” said Col. John Mawn Jr., superintendent of Mass State Police. “She did so because she took an oath to defend society from violence, crime, and disorder.
“She did so because she possesses the courage, at the risk of her own safety, to confront those that harm society and have a reckless disregard for the laws enacted to protect people,” Mawn added. “And she did so because she answered a calling to serve her community.”
The trooper was on patrol at around 11:48 p.m. on Friday when she spotted a gray Dodge Durango southbound on Route 3 in Norwell. The Durango had driven up behind her cruiser in the left lane at a high rate of speed, then pulled around and in front of her.
The trooper looked up the SUV’s license plate, and saw that its inspection sticker was expired. She also learned over the police radio that a 17-year-old male associated with that vehicle had a known “violent history towards police,” according to State Police.
The Registry of Motor Vehicles database showed that the boy was the subject of three active arrest warrants — one of them for a probation violation for not charging the ankle bracelet monitor he was ordered to wear as a result of a previous criminal case.
Then, the Durango took the exit to Route 228 and stopped in front of an Audi dealership on Pond Street in Norwell. The trooper activated her cruiser’s lights and stopped behind the suspect vehicle.
The trooper then saw the passenger climb over the center console into the back seat. The trooper approached the vehicle and confirmed that the back seat passenger was the wanted male juvenile, and that the SUV was being driven by his mother.
When the trooper escorted the juvenile out of the vehicle, the boy began to run toward the dealership. As the trooper pulled the juvenile back toward her, the boy struck her in the face with a closed fist, then pushed her away with both hands while shouting a vulgarity at her.
Then when the suspect entered the woods, the trooper ended the foot pursuit, broadcast the suspect’s description to back up patrols, and requested EMS for facial injuries. The trooper was later treated for her facial injuries and released from the hospital.
State Police and Norwell Police units responded to assist, as did Norwell EMS. A State Police K9 team responded, and began a track of the suspect, who was not found that night.
Then Sunday morning, the juvenile surrendered at the Cohasset Police Station. He’s expected to be arraigned at Hingham District Court for the new charges from Friday night. He will also face the charges from three prior warrants.
His name cannot be released under Massachusetts law, which deems defendants up to age 17 to be juveniles.
“I am grateful for her willingness to proactively police the roadways of the Commonwealth,” Mawn said of the trooper. “I am proud of her toughness, professionalism and calmness under pressure.”
He added, “I feel the same sense of pride for all Mass State Police Troopers who leave their homes, don a bulletproof vest, holster their pistol, and jump in their cruisers 24/7/365 and go to work to make our Commonwealth safer.”