Boston Police Officers assaulted by hostile crowd while arresting suspect armed with a loaded firearm

At about 5:40 PM on Tuesday, June 23, 2020, officers assigned to District B-2 (Roxbury) made an on-site firearm arrest in the area of Humboldt Avenue and Crawford Street.

Officers responded to a radio call for a person in the area of Maple Street and Cheney Street carrying a fanny pack with a gun inside.

While traveling on Cheney Street towards Blue Hill Avenue, officers observed a male carrying a fanny pack around his left shoulder. Officers exited their marked cruiser to speak with the male, later identified as Jermaine Thomas, 44, of Mattapan.

Due to the nature of the call, a large crowd gathered in the area. Officers attempted to gain control of the suspect’s hands at which time the suspect immediately grabbed the officer’s wrist and began squeezing it. As officers struggled to gain control, the suspect ripped his hands away and continued to resist by clinching his arms and pushing at officers causing a Body-Worn Camera to be knocked off and picked up by an unknown bystander.

As the crowd grew larger, a Boston Fire Department hydrant was illegally opened causing a heavy flow of water pressure onto the street directed at the officers.

Officers, while still attempting to place the male into handcuffs, felt an object consistent with that of a firearm inside of the fanny pack. An unknown suspect was throwing buckets of water on the officers while they were attempting to place the suspect into the marked cruiser after placing him in handcuffs. Officers recovered a Ruger LCR .38 SPL revolver, loaded with 5 Rounds of ammunition. The suspect was placed under arrest and immediately transported to District B-2 for booking.

Jermaine Thomas was charged with Unlawful Possession of a Firearm (3rd and Subsequent), Unlawful Possession of Ammunition and Resisting Arrest. He is expected to be arraigned at Roxbury District Court.

Said Boston Police Commissioner William Gross, “I’m alarmed by the level of hostility my officers had to face while arresting a felon armed with an illegal firearm. They were attacked by members of the very same community they were attempting to protect by affecting this arrest. Public safety is a shared responsibility, we need to continue to work together, not in opposition towards one another, to achieve that goal.”