A Brookline firefighter will be in court Tuesday, accused of beating and kicking a man because he was unhappy about how long it took the man to order his food at a restaurant, police said. According to witnesses, Ward followed the man outside, yelled expletives at him, punched him five to seven times, pushed him over, threw food and a bottle at him, and kicked him while he was down.
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“The surveillance video of the incident is quite violent, quite clear”, said Norfolk assistant district attorney Jessica Brokaw.
A witness on a bike told police that he saw a man, later identified as Ward, come out of the restaurant, call the victim a ‘homeless (expletive),’and later punching him in the face.
The firefighter fled the scene but was arrested shortly after the victim identified him.
Ward, a 10-year veteran of the department who Brookline police Lt. Philip Harrington said was off-duty at the time of the incident, was released on personal recognizance by Judge Mary Dacey White.
Brokaw had requested $10,000 bail.
Firefighter Joseph Ward, 37, of Dorchester was arrested Sunday night outside the Anna’s Taqueria on Harvard Street, according to WBZ.
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The victim was taken to the hospital with a laceration to his eyebrow.
