Recent Dave & Buster's Assault Will Not Prompt Security Detail Change, Chief Says

A police detail would not have changed the circumstances of , Police Chief Paul Frazier said this week, and therefore there is no reason to rethink his recent decision to scale back the security plan at the restaurant and arcade.

Prompted by a stipulation within the town's agreement with Dave & Buster's for a review of police details after six months, in June Frazier reduced available hours for Braintree officers – paid for by Dave & Buster's – from 92 to 36. The Board of License Commissioners then , despite opposition from police officers and the Granite Park Association.

Dave & Buster's officials also requested that the details be reduced because of what they said would be a slow-down over the summer. The new detail schedule eliminated police officers on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, and also reduced hours on Friday and Saturday nights. 

On Sunday night, July 15, just before closing time, a 23-year-old Dorchester man of Dave & Buster's. Restaurant staff moved in to break up the altercation and the suspects fled, according to a statement released by Deputy Chief Russell Jenkins.

Frazier said this week that police responded rapidly when called by Dave & Buster's and having a detail would not have changed what happened that night. He also said that the incident was less serious, by comparison, than the stabbing that occurred .

There is also no alcohol or gaming license hearing planned for Dave & Buster's as a result of the July 15 incident, license board chair Joe Powers said, because the establishment did not appear to violate any alcohol or gaming regulations, and because when the crime happened, staff immediately called the police.