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:	post by xanonymousx at 2006-08-15 15:25:11

i just copied and pasted...

Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Rock concert âout of controlâ

Band members claim police brutality

By Mary Jo Hill TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
mhill@telegram.com

LEOMINSTERâ A fight broke out in a mosh pit Saturday during a punk concert in a church and spilled into the parking lot, and one of the three people who were arrested tried to flee the police station while he was handcuffed, according to District Court records.

A band called Cut Throat was playing in the hall at First Church Unitarian Universalist, Leominster, at the time of the fight, according to records.

While police described a melee with people swearing at officers, resisting arrest and striking officers, a Web site on MySpace for the band is claiming police brutality.

One person posting on the Web site for Cut Throat said the band was peacefully preparing to leave after the concert had been broken up, and was loading its equipment when police harassed and provoked one of the band members and âmaced and beat up other members of the band.â

A patch for the Leominster Police Department is the icon on the Web site for a song called âReleaseâ by the band. The lyrics begin, âBlame it on the bands. Itâs convenient for you to spread your lies â¦â

The Rev. Susan Suchocki Brown of the Unitarian church, which is on West Street, disputed the police brutality claims.

Adults who were supervising the concert told the pastor that âthese kids were totally out of control,â she said.

âI just feel terribly sad about it,â she said. She said she is embarrassed that police had to get involved.

Youths have rented out the church, which is closed during the summer, for three or four other concerts. Those events have gone well, with respectful, polite youngsters, she said. Youths who are not old enough to drink alcohol come, and there have been Christian bands, she said.

âThen this one just went wicked bad,â Rev. Suchocki Brown said about the Saturday concert.

Band member Scott J. Rea, 21, of 4 Linden St. in Rockland, was charged with assault and battery on a police officer; trespassing; resisting arrest; and disorderly conduct, court records said. Cash bail was set at $500 and a pretrial hearing is scheduled for Sept. 18.

Band member Andrew W. Bezanson, 23, of 286 Pine St. in East Bridgewater, was charged with trespassing; resisting arrest; and assault and battery on a police officer, records said. Cash bail was set at $500 and a pretrial hearing is scheduled for Sept. 18.

Joseph R. Barrett, 22, of 183 Temple St. in Whitman, was charged with trespassing; disorderly conduct; and resisting arrest, court records said. Cash bail was set at $500 with a pretrial hearing scheduled for Sept. 18.

Timothy W. Murphy, a Leominster lawyer representing Mr. Barrett, said his client suffered a cut on his head that he says was from a police baton.

Narratives by police in court records described the following events that led to the arrests.

The Leominster Fire Department reported a fight in a parking lot behind the fire station.

Police found about 50 to 60 people in the parking lot, with about 10 to 15 people fighting.

Officers tried to control the crowd, but couldnât, and asked for help from other cities and state police.

When police went into the church they were met with âverbal insults and threats.â

Ashley Antonucci, who was teary-eyed, told police she had hired Cut Throat and now nobody would leave and things were getting out of control. She said a fight in the mosh pit had spilled outside, and asked police to tell everyone to leave.

Police tried to break up the concert, and part of the crowd complied and began leaving. Stragglers and others stayed behind, however, including Mr. Bezanson.

Mr. Bezanson was told many times to leave but âhe explicitly stated his lack of respect for the policeâ and resisted leaving.

Mr. Bezanson returned to the church, then emerged a short while later and ran into a police sergeant. It took several officers to restrain Mr. Bezanson, and several people began protesting the arrest.

After warnings, police used pepper spray on Mr. Bezanson and he was put in handcuffs.

Mr. Barrett resisted officersâ efforts to get the people protesting the arrest to leave, and was arrested. Once Mr. Barrett was put in custody and handcuffed, he ran off, but police caught him.

Mr. Barrett kicked and punched wildly and refused to comply with police, and hit an officer in the chest. Officers âused the force necessary to place Mr. Barrett into custody.â

Mr. Rea resisted efforts to get everyone out of the area and was arrested, court police said. Pepper spray was used to subdue Mr. Rea as well.

When Mr. Bezanson was taken into the police station garage to have water applied to his face to wash off the pepper spray, he knelt on the floor and appeared to be in a trance-like state but told an officer he was OK.

During this time, Mr. Barrett, who was also in the garage being decontaminated for pepper spray and was handcuffed, bolted from the police station and was apprehended again. Police believe he fled because he is the subject of an outstanding arrest warrant.

When an officer caught up to him, Mr. Barrett kicked the officer in the stomach and legs.

Mr. Barrett complained of having a broken right arm, but a doctor at UMass Memorial â HealthAlliance Leominster Campus said the injury was a previous break that already had healed. The doctor said the eveningâs events could have stressed the injury, but the arm was not broken.

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