Eighteen people were arrested during a sweep of Boston's "Methadone Mile" Thursday dubbed "Operation Clean Sweep" after an attack on an off-duty correctional officer there.
Large groups of people congregate there, near a city-run shelter as well as the Suffolk County House of Correction, and the leader of the corrections officers said Thursday the attack wasn't the first time an officer had been endangered.
The sweep of the area was meant to send a message after the attack, and brought the 18 arrests on charges including disorderly conduct, heroin possession and outstanding warrants.
Buckets of used syringes were collected as well, and police found two people who had overdosed. A street sweeper was brought in to help with the cleanup.
Caught on camera. A Suffolk County corrections officer attacked on his way into work this morning. He’s now out of the hospital. @NBC10Boston @necn pic.twitter.com/jhKNovWIp7
— Abbey Niezgoda NBC10 Boston (@AbbeyNBCBoston) August 1, 2019
Friday evening, more people were detained in the area. Police were asking people their names, checking their IDs and running the information on iPads before letting them go or taking them into custody.
Police did not say whether or not the people detained Friday evening were wanted in connection with the beating of the officer, identified Friday as Sabat Tejada. Two people have been charged in that case.
In wake of the assault, officials were set to meet Friday to discuss safety in the troubled area.
Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins called for an emergency meeting with Mayor Marty Walsh, Police Commissioner William Gross and Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins.
In a statement calling for the meeting, Tompkins said the "situation outside of the House of Correction...has become untenable." He went on to say the safety of workers and visitors of the jail "is clearly in jeopardy."
Before Thursay's raid, 45-year-old Torre Jenkins of Boston was arrested on charges of breaking and entering the officer's car and attempted carjacking. Police say Jenkins was in the crowd when several people joined in to attack the officer, who was on his way to work, in an assault that was caught on surveillance camera.
Jenkins said from behind glass in court Friday that he "didn't do anything."
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"All I did was try to get the car out of the road," he said. Jenkins said he was not trying to steal the off-duty officer's car, but try to move it.
Prosecutors allege that Jenkins has a history of violence and drug use. They claim he violated his probation almost every time he had been out of jail.
The defense fought back and said there was no evidence Jenkins participated in the attack.
The trouble began when the officer drove down Atkinson Street en route to the Suffolk County House of Correction. A man could be seen lunging toward the moving vehicle, causing the officer to stop his car and make a gesture to the man. The man then is seen throwing a punch through the vehicle’s open window, prompting the officer to exit his car and return a punch. A group of people surrounding the scene joined the violence and began to attack the officer.
