By Associated Press - Monday, June 22, 2020

BOSTON (AP) - Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins has opened a criminal investigation into a former MBTA police officer for allegedly using excessive force earlier this year.

On April 28, Officer Nicholas Morrissey allegedly dragged a homeless, intoxicated man from a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus on the Forest Hills busway and held the 63-year-old face-down with a knee on his back for 20 seconds, pushing his head into the pavement and later dragging him out of the bus lane, Rollins said in a press release Monday.

Rollins said the man is known to MBTA police and suffered abrasions to his face.

Morrissey filed a report on the incident alleging that the man lost his balance while attempting to spit at Morrissey, according to Rollins. Morrissey said he grabbed the man by the shoulders and redirected him before the man fell through the bus door and hit his forehead on the pavement, Rollins said.

The report is not consistent with video of the incident, Rollins said.

Morrissey resigned his position before any disciplinary action could take place. His supervisor has been placed on administrative leave, according to Rollins.

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