Police Release Body Cam Video of Students Arrested Outside President Avenue McDonalds

Fall River Police today released body camera video of students arrested and accused of trespassing at McDonald’s on President Avenue yesterday.

Here is the video released by FRPD (WARNING: Video contains graphic content and strong or offensive language)

Here are more details from FRPD

Attached to this release is a portion of body worn camera video from an incident which occurred on October 18, 2023, at 1620 President Avenue. The video contains redactions since the group is comprised of juveniles. While it is not our normal practice to release body worn camera footage of an incident. This footage is being released in the interest of transparency, accountability, and whereas the public interest has been taken into consideration.

Upon review of the video, you will see that, at the request of the manager, officers advised the crowd that they were to exit the restaurant if they had not already purchased food. This was because they had engaged in fighting and other disorderly behavior in the parking lot prior to entering the restaurant. This behavior resulted in multiple calls for service being placed to the Fall River Police Department.

As officers repeatedly warned the group that they needed to leave the restaurant or face arrest for trespass, they were met with confrontation. Their warnings were ignored and a juvenile who had
already been spoken with exited the restaurant only to immediately return through a separate entrance. That individual was then placed under arrest for trespassing.

Officers showed great restraint, with the initial responding officer issuing over twenty-three (23) warnings to the group prior to making any arrests. In total eight (8) arrests were made as detailed
below:

• Juvenile 1- Trespass, Resisting arrest
• Juvenile 2- Trespass, Disorderly conduct, Disturbing the peace, Resisting arrest
• Juvenile 3- Trespass, Resisting arrest (2 counts)
• Juvenile 4- Trespass
• Juvenile 5- Trespass, Disorderly conduct, Disturbing the peace
• Juvenile 6- Trespass, Disorderly conduct, Disturbing the peace
• Juvenile 7- Trespass, Resisting arrest
• Juvenile 8- Trespass, Resisting arrest (2 counts), Assault and battery on a police officer (2 counts)