By O’Ryan Johnson
Boston Herald
SAVANNAH, Ga. — A respected Boston drug detective was arrested in Savannah, Ga., over the weekend. He is accused of chasing two women to their home, where they tried to barricade themselves until they were yanked out by the screaming detective — who identified himself as a police officer and demanded that they speak to him — according to officials in the popular Dixie party town.
Savannah police said the women had done nothing wrong. They arrested Sgt. Detective Thomas Joyce, 46, who works in Hyde Park. He was charged with two counts of simple assault, false imprisonment, obstruction by means of resisting arrest, and criminal trespass after he was busted at 11:30 p.m. Friday.
“He grabbed them against their will and basically imprisoned them for no good reason,” said Savannah police Sgt. Mike Wilson.
Joyce was one of about 17 people arrested as Savannah hosted one of the nation’s largest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, which police there said drew hundreds of thousands to the Georgian coastal city.
Wilson said the two victims told cops they were walking home from the citiwide Irish-themed blast when Joyce began shouting at them.
“They paid Mr. Joyce no mind, as they did not know him,” Wilson said. “They continued to the house. Once there, they went inside. At that time, Mr. Joyce approached and began pushing on the front door trying to get inside. One of the victims began pushing on the door trying to keep Mr. Joyce out.”
Wilson said that during the struggle at the door, Joyce reached inside, grabbed one of the women and began pulling her outside. She held on to the door as her friend grabbed her, he said.
Wilson said Joyce next shouted: “I’m a cop! You need to come outside with me to talk!”
When the victim asked to see his identification, Joyce yelled an expletive and pulled both women outside, where he forced both women to the sidewalk, but did nothing further and made no demands, Wilson said.
The women’s roommate rushed from the apartment and began punching and kicking Joyce, who fled, he said.
Wilson said cops soon caught up with Joyce, who resisted arrest and refused to speak with his Savannah counterparts.
“He got real belligerent with our officers,” Wilson said.
Joyce was hired in 1997. He was put on paid administrative leave after the arrest, Boston police said.
Jack Parlon, president of the Boston Police Detectives Benevolant Society, whose union represents the detective, called Joyce a very intelligent, effective drug cop.
“We haven’t seen the full report,” Parlon said. “If true, it’s unusual behavior for him. He’s a very competent and credible guy. But we don’t know what happened.”
Mike Adaskaveg contributed to this report.
Copyright 2008 The Boston Herald