Fall River man charged after allegedly destroying an office, attacking an officer in Somerset

A Fall River man is facing multiple charges after he allegedly destroyed an office inside a local business in Somerset and attacked Somerset police officers.

James Patricio, 36, has been charged with assault and battery on a police officers, assault and battery in an attempt to disarm a police officer, assault and battery, malicious destruction of property worth less than $1,200, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest.

Somerset police said in a news release Monday that on Saturday around 2:30 p.m. they received a call reporting a man destroying an office.

When police got to the scene, officers spoke to the owner of the business, who took them to the office. At the office, the release said, Patricio yelled loudly, and officers could see that many objects had been thrown around the office, including a microwave and a toaster.

Patricio then went into a bathroom connected to the office where he continued to scream and behave irrationally despite officers’ commands, the release said. He then allegedly charged at officers.

Officers used a taser on Patricio, but it was not immediately effective, the release said. During a struggle between police and Patricio, he allegedly grabbed an officer’s firearm and attempted unsuccessfully to remove it from the officer’s holster.

Officers then backed off to prevent the situation from escalating and continued to try to to use verbal commands to get Patricio to submit to arrest, the release said. But Patricio allegedly continued damaging objects in the bathroom and office.

Police again tried to use a taser on Patricio, and due to the taser, officers were able to get Patricio into a position where he could be handcuffed even though he continued to struggle, the release said.

Officers then worked with the Somerset Fire Department to get Patricio into a stretcher so that he could be taken to a local hospital. Neither Patricio nor the officers involved were injured, the release said.

Patricio will be summonsed to court to face charges at a later date.

“I am grateful for the training and professionalism of the officers who responded to this call involving an individual who was behaving both violently and irrationally,” Chief Todd Costa said in the release.

“Somerset Police Officers are trained to use restraint, and to use their extensive training to effect arrests with the least amount of force possible, and these officers did an excellent job of bringing this situation under control without anyone being injured.”

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