By Antonio Planas
Boston Herald
LOWELL, Mass. — A cop stabbed while breaking up a fight is recovering after police say he was injured Sunday by an 11-year-old boy who lunged at another boy with a knife.
Police Capt. Tim Crowley said the incident occurred shortly before 5 p.m. on Read Street when an officer was patrolling and saw a disturbance involving juveniles. The officer got out of his car and prevented a boy from stabbing another, cops said.
“Shortly after he got out of the car, this 11-year-old came out of the house holding a knife over his head going after one of the kids on the street. He was charging at another kid, so the officer intercepted the boy and ended up getting cut twice on the arm, once on the finger and once on the outside of his arm with the knife,” Crowley said. “It’s very rare that you see a child this young involved in this kind of violent incident. ... God knows what would have happened if the officer wasn’t there.”
The boy was charged in juvenile court for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault on a police officer. Crowley said the officer was released from the hospital Sunday night after receiving stitches.
“We’re just thankful the officer will be alright and he hopefully will be back on duty soon.”
But the boy’s mother told the Herald the incident was a “big misunderstanding.” Her name and her son’s name are being withheld because he is a juvenile.
“He threw my son down, that’s how that happened. My son would never stab an officer,” she said. “The officer knew it was not intentional.”
The woman said her son was released on personal recognizance. She identified her son, who was at the home, as the child involved.
The 35-year-old woman said she called police when several boys tried to fight with her son over a bicycle. One teen boy even went into her home. The woman said she called police.
She acknowledged her son took a knife from their home — about 6 inches long — and charged at another boy who she claimed had threatened her family. She said she tried to restrain her son, and that’s when the officer took him to the ground.
The woman also claimed she was knocked to the floor by an officer when police searched her apartment without her permission. She is contemplating a lawsuit, she said.
Crowley defended his department.
“We stand by the officer’s report about the incident. It is clear he was cut prior to taking the boy to the ground in a struggle over control of the knife. The investigation into the incident is not complete, but we have not heard of a complaint being filed by the mother.
“The officer was on the scene with the child and the mother prior to the attack, yet in the presence of the officer trying to discern what occurred and calm the parties involved, the child chose to go after another child with a knife in his hand.”
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