Oct 9, 2007 4:37 pm US/Eastern
'Free Lodie' Shirt Angers Revere Residents, Cops
REVERE (WBZ) ―
A showing of support for a suspect in a police officer's murder leads to a fight then an arrest in Revere over the weekend.
The man arrested in this case says he was just trying to help his son and didn't even realize the meaning of the slogan on his shirt.
The T-shirt read "Free Lodie." Derek Lodie, 17, is charged with being an accessory before the fact in connection to the murder of Revere Police Officer Daniel Talbot last month.
Emotions are still running high after Talbot was shot and killed behind Revere High School. Those emotions started a fight at the city's Columbus Day parade on Monday. A man was attacked for wearing the "Free Lodie" shirt and was ultimately arrested by police during a scuffle.
Pat Starkey was the man who had the shirt on. He says he took it away from his son who had just been beaten up for wearing it. "He's wearing a shirt," explains Starkey. "I had no idea who Lodi was at that point."
He claims he is not a criminal and agrees with police.
Starkey says he was then attacked by the same men who assaulted his son -- one person even pulled out a gun. Starkey allegedly put his hand on the gun he had under his shirt, and that's when Revere police arrested him.
Police say they did not arrest him because of the shirt he was wearing, but because he wouldn't take his hands out of his pockets. They say they new he had a gun when they confronted him.
According to Starkey, he has had a lot of problems with his son, who he believes knows Lodi, and is upset he would wear the shirt at all.
Starkey is expected to appear in Chelsea District Court on Wednesday morning. He is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery on a police officer, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
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