Teen Had 'Very Severe' Concussion Symptoms After Peabody Arrest

PEABODY, MA — A North Reading man who claims he was assaulted by Peabody police officers when he was 16 had "very severe" scores on a post concussion symptom test when he was examined about a week after his arrest, the neurologist who examined him testified in a federal court trial Friday. Dr. Karameh Hawash-Kuemmerle, a neurologist at Boston Children’s Hospital, examined Tyler Leger-Broskey about a week after the incident in March 2015. Leger-Broskey filed a federal civil lawsuit against the officers, the city of Peabody and the Peabody police department.

Leger-Broskey and one of the officers also testified Friday, according to BU News Service, which first reported this story. "That never happened," Peabody Police Officer David McGovern testified after Leger-Brosky testified the officer had slammed him against the wall of a McDonald's restaurant. "He was doing anything not to be handcuffed...He was kicking...We were all over the place."

Leger Broskey claims police officers falsely arrested him and beat him so severely that, more than four years later, he continues to suffer from seizures.

According to court documents, Peabody police were called to the McDonald's at 133 Main Street on March 28, 2015 for a report of two teenagers smoking marijuana in the bathroom. Officers James McGovern and Antonio Santos found Leger-Broskey, then 16, and a friend walking near the restaurant. In his complaint, Leger-Broskey claims he was injured when he was thrown against a wall, but answered all the officers' questions. The police officers confiscated a small amount of marijuana. Leger-Broskey and his friend were released, and returned to the restaurant to clean food that had spilled on their clothing during the incident.

Police maintain they warned the two teens not to return to the restaurant, but Leger-Broskey's claims no such warning was issued. As he tried to leave the restaurant's bathroom, McGovern blocked his way. Leger-Broskey said he had the right to not answer questions. His lawsuit says he was tackled and that McGovern, Santos, as well as officers James Harkins, Scott Paszkowski and Robert Waugh, who had arrived at the store and are also named in the lawsuit, beat him. He also claims McGovern sprayed him with pepper spray.