BOSTON (WHDH) - A veteran Boston police officer has been placed on paid administrative leave after allegedly physically and verbally assaulting a group of high school students last week.
Officer Joseph Lynch, a 16-year veteran, is the subject of a misconduct investigation stemming from an incident in which he allegedly hurled racist names at a group Roxbury Prep High School students while at a McDonald’s on Sept. 13, authorities said.
Sania Houston, whose in the ninth grade, told 7NEWS that she was one of 30 students who were victimized as they ate breakfast at the fast-food restaurant before school.
After some of the students started playing music, Boston police were called to move the children along, but Sania says Lynch got physical.
“They smacked my friend’s milkshake out of her hand and elbowed one of my other friends,” Houston said.
Lynch then allegedly directed racial slurs at the students as they neared their school.
“I don’t want to get into terms about the words that were said because, you know, it’s still traumatizing,” 10th-grader Nayla Matos said.
In a statement, a spokeswoman for the high school said, “Numerous students and staff have come forward to express deep concerns about the officer’s behavior, both in terms of his actions and language. The entire Roxbury Prep community – students, families, administrators, faculty and staff — are shocked and deeply upset by what occurred.”
One student contacted Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins to report Lynch, who is assigned to the E-18 district in Hyde Park.
“The resiliency and bravery that these children, they are in the ninth and tenth grade at the campus, to use their voice and to speak up,” Rollins said. “It’s unconscionable. The Boston Police Department is better than that.”
The department’s Internal Affairs Division is leading an investigation into Lynch’s alleged actions.
Rollins, along with Boston Police Commissioner William Gross, have since met with all of the students affected by the incident, the school’s spokeswoman said.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)