An off-duty Boston police officer ended up with cuts on his face Sunday night after wading into a fight between patrons at a McDonald's on Gallivan Boulevard in Dorchester, and a 24-year-old woman was taken into custody following the scuffle. Police say the officer was at the Adams Village restaurant around 8:08 p.m. when the confrontation broke out and quickly turned physical.
Officers were dispatched to 515 Gallivan Boulevard shortly after 8 p.m. following a radio call for an officer in trouble, according to Boston.com. Responding units were told that five people were fighting inside the restaurant, including a Boston police officer who was off duty at the time. The Boston Globe reports the officer was injured while intervening in an argument between patrons, citing police.
What Police Say Touched Off the Fight
A preliminary investigation found that Cheyenne McCall, 24, was yelling at McDonald's employees when another patron told her to stop, according to the same Boston.com report. McCall then threw her soft drink at the man, per the police report cited in that account. She reportedly told police she threw the drink because the patron kept “running his mouth.”
The off-duty officer stepped between McCall and the other patron and tried to detain her as the situation escalated, the report notes. McCall refused to comply, and the officer radioed for assistance from on-duty officers while attempting to hold her, per the same account. During the struggle, McCall fought with the officer, according to the police report described by Boston.com. The officer suffered cuts to his face.
McCall was eventually taken into custody after struggling with officers. She offered her own explanation for the fight, telling police she started fighting back because she did not know why people were touching her, the outlet reported.
Injuries and the Aftermath
The patron McCall doused with soda suffered a cut on his hand but declined medical treatment at the scene, the station's report states. The off-duty officer was evaluated by EMS for cuts on his face but also declined to go to the hospital, per the same account. Police said McCall was arrested, and the incident remains under investigation.
Universal Hub reports McCall was arrested on charges of assault and battery and assault and battery on a police officer.
Not the First Trouble at This McDonald's
The Gallivan Boulevard McDonald's has seen unrest before. A separate fight broke out in its parking lot in April 2022 after a car struck a person riding a motorbike, according to WCVB. Police said at the time that two people involved suffered minor injuries, and no arrests had been made in connection with that case.
Sunday's incident also adds to a string of altercations reported at Boston-area fast-food locations this year. Boston.com notes that four teenagers were arrested in September and charged with attacking an employee at a McDonald's in Lynn, while Boston's Licensing Board reported assault and battery incidents at a Hyde Park McDonald's in September and a downtown Boston Wendy's in May. In June, a man was charged with assaulting a Burger King employee in Maverick Square, per the same report.
