BOSTON (WHDH) - An investigation is underway after a correction officer was attacked and beaten by a large group of people near the Suffolk County House of Correction on Thursday morning, officials said.
The officer was arriving at work and sitting in his car on Atkinson Street around 7:30 a.m. when someone reached through his rolled down window and struck him, according to the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department.
Officials say the officer was just a block away from the jail when a man started exchanging words with him.
Surveillance video from a nearby business showed the officer exit his vehicle before he was promptly swarmed, jumped, and brutally beaten.
The correction officer, whose name has not been released, told responding officers that one of the five attackers struck him several times with a metal pipe before they stole his watch, glasses, and phone, according to the Boston Police Department.
One of the men involved in the attack, 45-year-old Torre Jenkins, of Boston, tried to drive off with the victim’s car and flee the area but he was quickly tracked down and apprehended in the area of Southampton Street.
Jenkins is expected to be arraigned in Roxbury District Court on a slew of charges, including breaking and entering of a motor vehicle and attempted larceny of a motor vehicle.
In a statement, Correction Officers Local 419 denounced the criminal act, saying the “area has become a haven for crime, clearly without recourse, and is based on the neglect from the city.”
The union went on to label the incident a “quality of life issue” and called upon the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office to “make a stand” in prosecuting those responsible for the attack.
The officer, whose name has not been released, is undergoing medical treatment.
Police have not commented on whether any arrests have been made.
No additional details were immediately available.
The assault is under investigation.
This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS for updates online and on-air.
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