A 27-year-old man is being held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing after being arraigned last week in Chelsea District Court for biting off a piece of an officer’s ear during a domestic violence call on Friday, August 30.
Carlos Sanabria, 27, of Chelsea was charged with mayhem, strangulation, assault and battery on a police officer, assault to murder, and resisting arrest, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.
Judge Jane Prince ordered Sanabria to be evaluated by a clinician and held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing on Friday, Sept. 20.
At about 2:20 p.m. on August 30, Chelsea police responded to the Chelsea Community Center at 207 Shurtleff Street for a domestic dispute. Upon arrival, officers encountered a male, later identified as Sanabria, being uncooperative, according to the district attorney’s office. A center employee informed officers Sanabria had a video of a domestic incident involving his girlfriend. Sanabria refused to show the video to police and became increasingly more upset.
As Sanabria left the building, he began yelling at an officer before charging at him and throwing punches, according to the DA. The officer attempted to place Sanabria under arrest when both fell to the ground in a struggle with Sanabria on top. Sanabria continued to punch the officer and had the officer’s hands pinned down. Sanabria then bent his head down and bit the officer’s ear, tearing a piece of it off, the district attorney’s office alleges.
A second officer witnessed Sanabria on top of the officer and placed him in a chokehold. The second officer deployed his Taser, striking Sanabria in the back. Officers were eventually able to handcuff Sanabria.
The officer was immediately treated and transported to a local hospital for further medical attention.
“A dangerousness hearing is entirely appropriate here to ensure the safety of first responders and the larger community,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden. “This is an example of how unpredictable domestic violence calls can be for police officers, and how rapidly their day-to-day responsibilities can turn chaotic. This officer was injured in the line of courageous duty and I wish him a quick recovery.”
The victims of any crime, including domestic or sexual violence, should call 911 in an emergency. SafeLink, a statewide DV hotline, can be reached at 877-785-2020. SafeLink is answered by trained advocates 24/7 in English, Spanish and Portuguese, as well as TTY at 877-521-2601. It also has the capacity to provide multilingual translation in more than 140 languages. RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country, can be reached at 800-656-4673.
Help is also available for members of our LGBTQ+ community experiencing domestic or intimate partner violence through The Network/La Red by calling 617-742-4911 or 800-832-1901.