The video shows a Boston police officer surrounded by himself during an erratic traffic stop
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A Boston police officer was left alone in a hostile crowd as people threw drinks and trash at him when a suspect on a dirt bike broke away and fled, according to police and the city’s largest police union.
The on-camera brawl was first caught in a TikTok video posted by @noticiaboston. It happened around 9:24 p.m. on June 28 near Old Road and Ellington Street, where police say 100 to 150 people filled the area with loud music, drinking, instruments, mopeds and dirt bikes.
Boston Police Department (BPD) Officer Jesse Kennedy responded to the loud noise and tried to disperse the crowd when he saw a dirt bike without a rear plate, according to a police report obtained by The Boston Herald. When Kennedy approached the rider and grabbed the handlebars to check if the bike was registered, the rider refused to get off and allegedly tried to take it off. Fox News Digital has requested the police report and additional details from BPD.
A video circulating on social media shows Kennedy surrounded by people throwing liquids, bottles and other objects while struggling with a passenger. At one point, glass was heard shattering in the street.
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A viral video shows Kennedy surrounded by a crowd of people throwing drinks, bottles and other objects as he struggles with the dirt bike rider, who eventually escapes. (Instagram/@noticiaboston)
“Go home,” someone yells in a video reviewed by Fox News Digital.
Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association President Larry Calderone told Fox News Digital that the video shows exactly what officers are dealing with when they are understaffed.
“He was alone, and he had to go,” Calderone said.
He was alone, and he had to go.
Kennedy was assigned with another officer, but Calderone said that officer had trouble getting to him because of traffic, congestion and pedestrians blocking the road.
“It’s a matter of minutes,” Calderone said. “It probably doesn’t sound like much to the general public, but when you’re fighting someone in the crowd, and you’re calling for help and no one is coming, those three minutes feel like an awfully long time.”
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Boston police work at a crime scene. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
The union boss said the BPD is “extremely short” on staff and said the incident is symptomatic of a staffing crisis that has left police officers dangerously understaffed during their busiest time of year.
Calderone said the union does not criticize Mayor Michelle Wu, thanking her for organizing the money and hiring about 100 officers a year while in office. Instead, he pointed to retirements, internal promotions and the City Council’s handling of police overtime.
“The blame is not on the mayor,” said Calderone. “The blame lies with the City Council.”
Calderone said patrol positions in Boston are still depleted, saying the department’s previous testimony to the City Council showed the BPD is 600 officers short. Fox News Digital has not independently verified Calderone’s staffing figures.
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Calderone said Boston’s police force is dangerously understaffed, but he blamed the City Council for running overtime on behalf of Mayor Michelle Wu, who he praised for hiring new recruits. (Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
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Calderone accused other councilors of trying to “take money out of the police” while neighbors faced street takeovers, loud late-night parties and attacks on police trying to keep the peace.
“Why don’t they criticize this eating of people on the streets, these noisy organizations, these attacks on their police who are trying to keep their neighborhoods safe?” Calderone said.
The union president said Boston typically uses overtime to put more officers on the street if officers are aware of ongoing problems.
“For some reason, this weekend, the department didn’t pull out any more bodies,” he said, saying the BPD “ran under their minimum standards,” leaving Kennedy alone in the crowd.
“Thank goodness he and no bystanders were hurt,” Calderone said.
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The Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association also blasted the viral video on X, writing that “fewer officers mean less safety.”
The president of the Boston police union, Larry Calderone, said the incident shows how badly understaffed the BPD is during the city’s busy season. (Stock)
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Additional officers eventually arrived and cleared the crowd, according to a police report. The passenger was not publicly identified in the initial report, and the police report did not note that any arrests were made in the crowd.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Mayor Wu’s office for comment, Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox and City Commissioner Brian Worrell’s Fourth District Office for comment.
