WORCESTER – A local activist at Worcester City Hall on Tuesday, Nov. 19, received spray paint to his face and clothing, leading to a warrant for the arrest of a Worcester business owner on charges of Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon.
David Webb, a progressive activist often critical of city officials during city council meetings, says a man in a hooded sweatshirt identified him on the third floor of city hall before spraying paint at his face. No interaction between the two occurred before the attack, according to Webb.
Police identified the man from surveillance footage at city hall and successfully applied for a warrant for the arrest of the alleged attacker. Webb identified the man as John Piccolo, the owner of Piccolo’s restaurant at 157 Shrewsbury St.
The Worcester Telegram and Gazette reports that court documents confirm Piccolo as the subject of an arrest warrant issued for Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon.
The man left the scene though the elevator inside city hall prior to police arriving at the scene.
In a letter to Webb, City Manager Eric Batista said that responding officers were not wearing body worn cameras, as they were being reprogrammed in response to an issue with the system’s GPS.
Batista also released a public statement about the incident.
In his statement, Batista said officers responded to a call on Worcester Common at around 5:25 PM. Officers left that scene to make a report and were on their way back to the building at the time a 911 call reporting a fight at city hall occurred. Police arrived at the scene inside city hall about four minutes after the incident took place.
He added that that the city does not assign detail officers to city hall for the duration of city council meetings without a specific request.
When 2Gether We Eat Executive Director Charles Luster spoke during the city council meeting, he said that he and City Councilor At-Large Khrystian King broke up a fight at the start of the meeting.
