Man admits scuffling with cops who tried to help him

By Julie Manganis
Staff writer

November 21, 2008 05:49 am

—

SALEM — A former Salem man who was found drunk and lying in the mulch outside a downtown restaurant last summer, and then scuffled with police who were trying to put him into protective custody, will spend the next two years on probation, a judge ordered yesterday.

Joseph Hatcher, 38, who now lives in Springfield, admitted to sufficient facts on charges of resisting arrest and assault and battery on a police officer yesterday in Salem District Court.

But under the terms of a plea agreement, the charges were continued without a finding for two years and will be dismissed if Hatcher stays out of trouble and complies with his probation conditions, including alcohol treatment.

Hatcher was found lying outside of a restaurant in the former Salem News building on Washington Street on Aug. 7.

When police found him, Hatcher was babbling into a cell phone, barely coherent.

But when police brought him to the station to put him into protective custody, Hatcher became enraged, said prosecutor Jen Andrade. He "raised a fist" toward the officers, Keith Reardon and Ryan Davis.

One of the officers slapped the side of Hatcher's head, which knocked the unsteady man to the floor.

Ultimately, it took five officers and a blast of pepper spray to get Hatcher into a cell, Andrade said.

Asked by Judge Richard Mori whether the facts outlined by the prosecutor were accurate, Hatcher, who is originally from Georgia, said, "I must admit, your honor, I don't recall. They say I did, so I must have."

Hatcher's lawyer, Paul Carrigan, said his client had just completed an alcohol treatment program.

He was living in Salem while he attended Salem State College, Carrigan said.