In the early hours of a Sunday morning in North Plymouth, a disagreement between two men escalated beyond words to a violent and grim altercation. According to the Plymouth Police Department, after spending an entire day and night out on a sightseeing cruise and continuing to drink at local venues, 39-year-old Michael O’Driscoll, of Plymouth, and his 40-year-old acquaintance from Dorchester took their inebriated state back to a residence in North Plymouth where the situation turned physical.

The argument between the two men quickly devolved into a fistfight, and at some point, O'Driscoll managed to get his opponent on the ground. What happened next was shocking enough to briefly make one to forget the mundane brutality often accompanying alcohol-fueled disputes. As the Dorchester man laid pinned, he pleaded, "Don't bite my ear off, Don't bite my ear!" These words, however, went unheeded. O'Driscoll proceeded to bite off a piece of the man's ear, according to the Plymouth Police Department report.

Plymouth officers arriving at the scene found a "two inch" piece of the victim's ear stored in a cup of ice water. The severity of the attack led to O'Driscoll's arrest on charges of Assault and Battery with Serious Bodily Injury (Severe Disfigurement) and Mayhem. Domestic violence remains a critical issue in our communities, with Plymouth police reporting five related arrests in the same timeframe.