Dec. 31--HAVERHILL -- A Haverhill man was arrested Sunday night for punching a firefighter in a wild scene in which police and firefighters were attacked by two men and two women while responding to a single-car accident on Oak Terrace.
Both men were arrested at the scene on various charges; the women have been summonsed to court for interfering with police.
Police were called to 33 Oak Terrace at 6:48 p.m. for a car accident to find several women and a man standing in the driveway arguing, police reports said.
The reports said a firefighter who approached the group to see if anyone needed medical attention was attacked and punched in the face by the man.
A police officer on scene quickly subdued the man and placed him under arrest, the report said. That officer then called for more police as the women became unruly and began pushing and yelling at other firefighters, police reports said.
Angel Perez, 33 Oak Terrance, was charged with assault and battery on a public employee.
Firefighters and officers then went to inspect a damaged silver 2000 BMW resting at the bottom of a nearby hill in clump of trees.
Police said the vehicle was registered to Rui Carvalho, 33 Oak Terrace. The two women told officers that Perez and Carvalho were in the car when it went down the hill and struck the trees.
Another officer then spotted someone hiding nearby behind a shed. That man turned out to be Carvalho, who refused to follow the officer's verbal commands and then resisted arrest. Reports said Carvalho struggled with officers as they carried him to a cruiser and that Carvalho kept trying to flop to the ground.
Carvalho was charged with driving with a suspended driver's license, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and leaving the scene of an accident after causing property damage. After he was arrested, Carvalho continued to be unruly and "act up" at the police station, reports said.
"Carvalho was yelling and saying he can drive his car in his own yard and smash it up if he wants to," the police report said.
The two women who pushed and yelled at firefighters, Maria Carvalho and Maribel Perez, were also charged with interfering with police officers. The women were not arrested, but they have been summonsed to court on the charges, police said.
Police declined to provide the name of the firefighter who was assaulted. His name was blackened from reports on the incident.
Copyright 2013 - The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
