Boston firefighter sues police for excessive force

Boston firefighter sues police for excessive force

BOSTON — A Boston firefighter has filed a federal lawsuit claiming that two city police officers used excessive force when he was arrested during an investigation of a domestic dispute with his girlfriend.

During a criminal trial, Wayne Abron was acquitted of charges that included assault and battery on a police officer and resisting arrest.

In a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday, Abron claims police threw him to the ground and beat him in the backyard of his mother’s home on March 22, 2008. Abron claims he was having a verbal argument with his girlfriend, but insists he never acted violently toward her.

A lawyer for the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association said that any injuries Abron received were the result of his struggling with the officers as they tried to arrest him.

UMass trustees approve public law school plan

BOSTON — The University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees has approved a plan to create the state’s first public law school.

Trustees voted 14-4 Thursday on a plan that would require the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth to send tuition revenue from the proposed law school to the state but would allow the campus to retain student fees.

The plan now goes to the state Board of Higher Education in February for final ratification.

The board for the Southern New England School of Law has offered to donate its campus to the UMass-Dartmouth.

Some of the state’s private law schools have criticized the plan, saying the state can’t afford it.