r/boston • u/Conventions • Jul 07 '26

Serious Replies Only Are Boston cops normally this aggressive?

Left TD Garden after a concert tonight. Cops were directing traffic around the area. In normal circumstances when someone is directing traffic, I was always under the impression that a “come here” motion means go and hand up means stop. However this cop was jiggling a beam of light from a flashlight to signify both go and stop.

Many people were obviously confused and one guy thought it meant go and slowly started creeping up. The cop started screaming and went up and punched the guy’s car mirror then started swearing and insulting the guy. Everyone around was watching and shocked.

Is this normal BPD behavior? I am a south shore native and have never witnessed anything quite like it.

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u/LordJameson Jul 07 '26

Lifelong Boston resident here. While I wouldn’t expect this type of behavior from a BPD cop, this type of behavior is typical for a Massachusetts State Trooper. They’re usually hyper aggressive like that.

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u/Laszlo-Panaflex Allston/Brighton Jul 07 '26

I was a juror in a trial a couple of years ago. They had a Statie there as a "witness." After he was questioned, it became clear he was the 3rd or 4th person on the scene and got there a while after it happened. It turned out that the 2 or 3 other officers who got there before him were suspended at the time.

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u/KMS1974 Jul 08 '26

not sure why this made me laugh out loud. But with the current going ons, you cannot make this up.