By Evan Allen, Nicole Dungca and Jan Ransom BOSTON GLOBE STAFF JANUARY 19, 2017
Michael Hathaway didn’t even have time to shield himself from the blow. The security guard gripped Hathaway’s cane with both fists and smashed it across his face, according to security footage of the incident described by MBTA Transit Police.
A disabled homeless man, Hathaway, 52, had been sitting alone and quiet on a bench in North Station around 9 a.m. on Dec. 22, when the private guard, contracted by TD Garden, had told him to leave. Hathaway gathered his things, authorities say, and walked toward the exit.
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But in what authorities described as a sudden, unprovoked attack, guard Rene Norestant Jr., half Hathaway’s age and 110 pounds heavier, shoved Hathaway from behind into the exit door, punched or shoved him, then grabbed his cane and struck his head.
The violent encounter was captured on security footage, which MBTA Transit Police Superintendent Richard Sullivan described in detail to the Globe.
The alleged attack occurred at rush hour and was captured on camera and seen by several witnesses. But while Norestant was suspended, he was not fired or arrested until the Globe inquired about the incident this week. He was arrested late Tuesday night by Transit Police and charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. He pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Boston Municipal Court.
In court on Wednesday, an assistant district attorney said Norestant told police that Hathaway swung first. The former guard was ordered to stay away from Hathaway and to stay out of TD Garden.
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Interviews with several other homeless people, as well as commuters who say they have witnessed harassment at the train station, suggest the alleged attack was part of a pattern of alleged abuse carried out by TD Garden’s security guards, who are hired by contractor Allied Universal.
Three other homeless people filed police reports accusing guards of assault in June, July, and September. A woman on her way to work as a fund-raiser for Massachusetts General Hospital said she called 911 after witnessing the September attack and took pictures of the aftermath, which she shared with the Globe. In that attack, Norestant was named as the alleged assailant in the police report.
