Overview
- The fight broke out outside Tescobar, a live music bar in downtown Lowell, and the disturbance occurred early Sunday around 1:40 a.m., when large crowds were leaving Folk Festival events.
- Prosecutors say video shows officers tasing Malakai Linton three times as they tried to detain him and that he then threw a single punch that knocked Officer Bettencourt completely unconscious.
- Officer Bettencourt suffered a concussion and an arm injury from the blow and is recovering, according to court filings and prosecutor statements.
- Linton, 20, was arraigned July 27 and is charged with assault and battery on a police officer and other counts; he was held on $7,500 bail and is due back in court in August.
- Family members contest the public video and say the footage is incomplete, asserting Linton was trying to help his mother after she fell and suffered a head injury during the brawl.