WRENTHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - A judge on Friday dismissed a case against a Massachusetts state trooper who was accused of exposing himself and committing a lewd act at a Luke Bryan concert at Gillette Stadium over the summer.
Citing the state’s Valor Act, a Wrentham District Court judge said during an arraignment hearing that the case against 32-year-old Andrew Patterson would no longer proceed because witnesses failed to come forward and testify against him.
Patterson was charged last month with lewd, wanton, and lascivious conduct in connection with an incident at the soldout concert in June in which he allegedly masturbated next to a woman before he punched her boyfriend in the face, court documents indicated.
The Lynn native spoke out after the charges were dropped, saying his life has been ruined by the “wholeheartedly false” allegations.
“The accusations are wholeheartedly false,” Patterson told reporters. “As a result of these allegations, I’ve suffered severe human consequences. My family has been harassed, my reputation has been tarnished, and my source of income and healthcare has been removed.”
A detail officer responding to a report of a fight in floor seating section around 10:30 p.m. on June 21 found a man “bleeding profusely,” according to a criminal complaint.
The man and his girlfriend told police that Patterson was “extremely intoxicated” and standing next to them in the crowd with his pants “unzipped and his penis was exposed,” police wrote in the complaint.
Patterson, who was attending the concert with his wife, also allegedly walked up behind the man’s girlfriend and pretended to grind on her while taking a video of himself.
Police say the man knocked the phone out of Patterson’s hand and threw a chair at him. Patterson then allegedly punched the man before a friend flashed a badge and stated that they were troopers.
Patterson’s wife reportedly denied the accusations and said he was acting in self-defense.
The man initially declined to press charges against Patterson, claiming that it would be a “waste of his time.”
Patterson’s attorney Daniel Moynihan called the complaint a “product of the media.”
“It’s a product of media hype. He’s been tried and convicted in the media already,” Moynihan said. “The truth of these matters come out in court. No witnesses were going to come forward. There were no videotapes.”
The judge also impounded all documents connected to the case, including an original Foxborough police report. He then dropped the charges under the Valor Act.
The act — under a diversion program — permits someone who has been honorably discharged and has seen active-duty to have misdemeanor criminal charges dismissed if the person has no record.
“I have fought for our country overseas and I have fought for the Commonwealth on these streets,” Patterson told reporters. “I have done nothing to deserve the slander and public shaming that I have experienced.”
Patterson, who joined the department six years ago, made headlines in 2015 when law enforcement sources say he fatally shot a knife-wielding man on a footbridge that runs over Storrow Drive in Boston. He was later cleared of any wrongdoing.
He remains suspended without pay pending the outcome of an internal investigation into the alleged violation of state police rules and policies.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)