Man Arrested After Reported Brick Attack In Somerville Park

SOMERVILLE, MA — A man was arrested after reportedly attacking a sleeping man with a brick in Davis Square, according to the Somerville Police Department.

Stephen Michael Picard, 57, was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and threatening to commit a crime following the incident on Thursday, Oct. 29. Officer Matthew McCune was parked at the MBTA bus terminal on 5 College Ave. at approximately 1:30 p.m. when he saw Picard apparently striking something near a retaining wall in Statue Park.

Several people sitting nearby partially blocked McCune’s view before another man approached Picard and pushed him away. As the officer traveled toward the park, he overheard someone say, “he just hit him with a brick.” Picard was reportedly walking away carrying several bags when McCune stopped him and placed him in handcuffs.

McCune then noticed a man bleeding heavily from his head and face and requested emergency medical personnel. Two witnesses said they saw Picard strike the man with a brick while he appeared to be sleeping. Officers recovered a brick nearby with reddish stains consistent with blood, according to the report.

McCune and Detective Fusco later reviewed surveillance footage from a nearby 7-Eleven that police said captured the entire incident. Picard reportedly entered the park, placed his bags on a bench and walked around before picking up a brick. He then approached the sleeping man and struck him eight times in the head and face.

During the assault, the man appeared to wake up and tried to shield his head with his hands before another man intervened and pushed Picard away. Picard then retrieved his bags and discarded the brick near a tree in the same location where officers recovered it, police said. While detained, Picard also reportedly threatened another man in the park, saying, “You’re next, I’m gonna get you next.”

The injured man told McCune that he was sleeping when the assault occurred. He said Picard had been in a “frantic state” in the park the previous night and became upset when he told him to calm down. The man received treatment from Cataldo EMS but declined transportation to a hospital. Picard was transported to the Somerville Police Station for booking.

Picard was previously arrested in Somerville in August 2018 on charges of assault and battery on a person older than 60, threatening to commit a crime, and two counts of malicious and wanton defacement of property, according to local police logs.

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