BROOKLINE, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts firefighter has been released on personal recognizance after pleading not guilty to charges that he beat up a homeless man for taking too long to order at a restaurant.
Police say 37-year-old Joseph Ward of Boston punched the man in the face five to seven times, kicked him and threw food and a bottle at him outside of Anna’s Taqueria in Brookline on Sunday night. Ward is charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
The victim was taken to the hospital with a laceration to his eyebrow.
Brookline Town Administrator Mel Kleckner says Ward has been placed on administrative leave.
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Ward’s attorney asked to see video surveillance from inside the restaurant where he believes the altercation started and said there are “multiple sides to every story.”