Medford Man Charged With Assaulting Somerville Police Officer

SOMERVILLE, MA — A Medford man is facing assault and resisting arrest charges following an altercation with a police officer outside a Somerville bar, police said.

Officers were called to The Burren around 1 a.m. on Jan. 5 for a report of a man hitting the door of the bar with a chair. They found 38-year-old Brendan Keeffe at the front door with a damaged metal chair next to him, according to the police report.

When one of the officers asked him what he was doing, Keeffe turned and cursed at him, police said. Keeffe's speech was slowed, he was unsteady on his feet and had a strong odor of alcohol coming from him, police said.

"Mr. Keeffe without warning reached rapidly at my department issue microphone that is clipped onto my sweater in the chest area," the police report stated. "He was able to get full grip on it. I immediately grabbed his right arm, preventing him to pull my radio out."

Keeffe struggled with the officer, and they both went to the ground, police said. A door man at the bar witnessed the altercation and helped the officer handcuff Keeffe, according to the police report.

The door man told officers Keeffe had arrived an hour earlier and at one point started harassing other customers, police said. He was escorted out of the bar and began hitting the front door with a chair, prompting the bar to call police, the man told officers.

Keeffe was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.