Easthampton High School student Joshua R. Brown, 18, was arrested Thursday evening on assault charges, hours after students walked out of class to protest what they said are unresolved racial tensions at the school.
EASTHAMPTON -- A patrol officer's report on file at Northampton District Court describes how Easthampton police investigated an alleged assault in the high school parking lot last week.
Easthampton High School student Joshua R. Brown, 18, was arrested Thursday evening, hours after students walked out of class to protest what they said are unresolved racial tensions at the school. Brown was arraigned Friday on charges of assault and battery and intimidating a witness, and released on the condition that he stay away from the alleged victim. He is due back in court May 10.
Brown has dark skin, and his alleged victim, a juvenile, is white. Two other juvenile students who took part in the March 29 incident would also face charges, according to the report filed March 30 by Patrol Officer Rick J. Rogalski. Rogalski is also an Easthampton High School football coach, according to members of the school community who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Easthampton officials respond to student walkout
The Republican does not identify juvenile defendants or victims of crimes, or release details, such as the names of their parents, that would allow them to be identified.
According to Rogalski's police narrative, submitted to the court in support of establishing probable cause to file charges against Brown:
* Officer William Mielke was dispatched to the Easthampton High School parking lot on March 29 at 2:10 p.m. for a report of a fight. Rogalski radioed dispatch that he would respond instead because he was "close to the high school."
* Rogalski arrived and observed a "large number of students" at the rear of the parking lot, but did not witness a fight. A student who was driving away identified Brown and the alleged victim by name.
* Rogalski located the alleged victim near his vehicle and observed that his face was red. The victim initially declined to talk about the incident, saying, "If he talked about it things would get worse." The victim said Brown had stated if he involved the police, "he would get his brother to come and take care of business."
* The victim named Brown and three other students, and said Brown had struck him. Rogalski asked the victim if anyone shot video of the incident on their cellphone, and he said yes. The victim was "very upset and crying" and said he would contact his parents himself.
* Approached by Principal Kevin Burke, Rogalski explained that he knew who was involved. The victim "informed Principal Burke of his reluctance of punishment for the involved and Burke told (the victim) that at this point he wanted charges pressed."
* Rogalski went with Burke to his office where Burke "printed out the information sheets" of the students involved.
* Rogalski said he had "spoken with Burke earlier in the day" and been informed of an incident described in a March 25 report by another police officer.
* According to the March 25 report, the victim sent a Snapchat message to a former girlfriend saying, "Are you still dating that n-----." The former girlfriend shared the message with a female friend, who in turn posted it to social media.
* The victim and his father "had contacted" the third-party female friend and her mother "and talked about and apologized for his inappropriate comment, an apology they accepted." The young woman, however, "refused to take the post down," according to Rogalski.
* Burke told Rogalski that he would be suspending the students involved in the assault.
* Rogalski left the school, called the victim's father, informed him of what had occurred, and said he would follow up in the morning. The father said he "had spoken with" his son.
* The father called back and told Rogalski he was going to pick up his son and bring him to the doctor because "he was not feeling well and his head hurt."
* After receiving the call, Rogalski decided to "make contact with Brown," at that point "the only one that I was sure struck (the victim)."
* Rogalski went to Brown's residence and spoke with his "former guardian" who said Brown was not at home. Rogalski left his card and "asked if she could have Josh reach out to me on Thursday morning so I could speak to him."
* After leaving the home, Rogalski received a third call from the victim's father, who reported that he had the name and address of a student who had shot cellphone video of the incident.
* Rogalski went to the student's home "and spoke to both him and his mom and they agreed to let the student accompany me to the station and download the video from their phone."
* Rogalski viewed the video, which he said "clearly shows Josh Brown (and three named juveniles) partially surround the victim, "then Brown punches (the victim) with a closed fist in the left side of his face." Two of the juveniles also punched the victim, and a fourth "in close proximity" did not hit him or say anything, Rogalski wrote.
* An adult female approached the group "in what appears to be an attempt to quell the situation." She is told by one of the juveniles that the victim used the n-word and "needs to get his ass beat." An unknown female can be heard to say, "Kick his ass." Brown then strikes the victim a second time with a closed fist, Rogalski wrote, followed by "more rants" from the juvenile.
* "During this entire incident (the victim) made no attempt to strike any of the individuals involved," Rogalski wrote.
* The victim's father later informed Rogalski that his son had been diagnosed with a concussion, and sent documentation from the physician.
* At around 2:22 p.m. on March 30, Rogalski "was made aware of another video depicting the violent assault of (the victim)" that was sent via private message to the Easthampton Police Department Facebook page.
* Rogalski spoke with the office of Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan, and "given the seriousness of the injuries, a concussion, which is an injury to the brain, witness statements and video evidence" the four suspects "are being charged with aggravated assault and battery resulting in serious injury and intimidation of a witness, for the comment made to the victim about there being consequences for him cooperating with or getting the police involved."
* Around 5:35 p.m., Rogalski "received information" that Brown was at an Easthampton residence, and went to the address with Officer Kyle Gribi. "I knocked on the door and asked to speak with Josh Brown, as he was coming to the door I observed (one of the juvenile suspects) sitting on the couch and asked to speak with him as well."
* Rogalski "placed Brown under arrest, cuffs were checked for comfort and double locked, and secured him in the rear of my cruiser. I explained to Brown what he was being charged with and why he was being charged with those crimes."
* Brown was taken to the police station on Payson Avenue, booked per department policy and read his rights by Gribi.
* A clerk magistrate set bail at $200 plus fee and Brown was taken to the regional lockup.