Cellphone video showed Domenic Murdock "swinging violently with the razor. Any one of the strikes could have caused serious injury or death," Officer Scott Stelzer wrote in his report.
SPRINGFIELD -- A Springfield man who allegedly got into an argument with his cousin and sliced him with a box cutter has been ordered to undergo an extended psychiatric evaluation.
On the recommendation of a court psychologist, Domenic Murdock, 22, was committed Wednesday to the Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital for 20 days.
The order, issued by Judge John Payne in Springfield District Court, came two days after a police officer spotted two shirtless men chasing each other around the gas pumps outside the Cumberland Farms on Belmont Avenue, according to the arrest report.
As the cruiser pulled into the parking lot, Officer Scott Stelzer saw a man bleeding from a wound to his back and Murdock walking away, the report said.
"He cut me," the man told the officer. When Murdock refused to stop, the officer drew his firearm and eventually got him down on the pavement, the report said.
Once his alleged assailant was handcuffed, the victim began yelling "words to the effect that he would beat his ass," the report said.
Murdock claimed he scratched the victim's back with his fingernails, but a box cutter was found in the trash can next to one of the gasoline pumps, the report said.
Several customers watched the fight and one used his cellphone to record it, according to the report. The video showed Murdock "swinging violently with the razor. Anyone of the strikes could have caused serious injury or death," Stelzer wrote.
Murdock was arrested and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. His arraignment, scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed after defense lawyer Travaun Bailey requested a mental health evaluation to determine if Murdock is competent to stand trial.
The evaluation, conducted Wednesday by the court clinic, raised questions about his competency and called for a more extensive review at the Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital.
The men are homeless, cousins by marriage and spend most of their days together, according to court documents. No reason for the argument was listed in the report. Murdock said he has been diagnosed with psychiatric problems and refuses to take medicine prescribed to treat them, the report said.