A Dorchester man says he did nothing wrong, after he and a plain-clothed Cambridge Police Sergeant bumped into each other outside Porter Square last month. The ensuing confrontation was recorded by a woman on her cell phone.
Cleon Hodge said he was walking home on October 13 when he bumped into the Sergeant, later identified as Thomas Ahern.
"'I turned back and told him, 'That's some cute stuff. You have to say excuse me before you throw your shoulder through people,'" Hodge said.
The nearly 20-minute video starts with Ahern, dressed in a jacket and jeans, trying to search Hodge.
"He was in plain clothes, I thought he was, you know, anybody," Hodge added.
In the video, two women can be heard yelling at Ahern to leave Hodge alone. At one point, the phone appears to hit Ahern, and he hits it away as the phone falls.
The women continue yelling at Ahern to let Hodge go.
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"If it wasn't on video I would probably be in jail," Hodge said Tuesday.
"I was disturbed to see the video," said Rahsaan Hall, with the ACLU of Massachusetts.
"From what I can see, the individual was being complaint with police and having a conversation from the people who were bystanders," Hall said.
"This is evidence of the things are eroding public trust in police," Hall added.
In a statement on its website, the Cambridge Police Department said it has launched an internal investigation.
"The Cambridge Police Department conducted an internal review of an incident occurring on October 13, 2016, in the Porter Square area involving Sergeant Thomas Ahern and three defendants and determined that Sergeant Ahern’s actions were consistent with his duty obligations," the statement said.
Hodge was cited for disorderly conduct and assault and battery. The two women were cited too. All three will be back in court on December 21.
