By Jim Clark

A police officer on duty in the Davis Square area last Friday morning was flagged down by a citizen that was concerned about the welfare of a man who was sleeping on a bench in front of the MBTA station on Holland St.

The man sleeping on the bench was identified as Stephen Remick, who is reportedly well known to Somerville Police.

Remick reportedly had an open bottle of vodka in his possession, which the responding officers confiscated, poured out, and disposed of the bottle.

Police then advised Remick that he needed to move along. He reportedly responded by yelling obscenities at the officers and claiming that they stole his property and that he wanted it back.

According to reports, the officers gave Remick ample opportunities to calm down and be quiet, but his antics continued to grow louder. As people walked past they stopped to observe Remick’s actions. Drivers of passing cars also slowed down to watch, which caused a minor traffic backup.

When a bus stopped to allow passengers – some of which had young children – to disembark, they were visibly appalled by Remick’s statements and attempted to shield their children from his view, police said.

Remick reportedly made numerous spontaneous outbursts throughout the entire incident, which included threats of violence.

The officers placed Remick under arrest for disturbing the peace and for having an open container of alcohol. When the officers notified dispatch of the arrest and requested the prisoner transport wagon, Remick reportedly insisted that he was about to have a seizure and demanded to go to the hospital.

The volume and nature of his outbursts continued to get louder and more violent, police said, and the officers moved Remick to an area that was more secluded to protect the public from his outbursts.

Ambulance personnel arrives and evaluated Remick and determined that he did not need medical services. While the EMTs were evaluating Remick, he reportedly yelled at the officers “I’m going to spit on you!” and then did so. The officer who was spat on requested reimbursement of $5.00 by Remick for the cost of dry-cleaning his uniform trousers.

Remick was taken to jail and booked on charges of threat to commit a crime, assault and battery on a police officer, disorderly conduct, and miscellaneous statutory violation.