At about 4:46pm, on Tuesday, February 8, 2011, officers from Area D-4 (South End) responded to a radio call for a person stabbed in the area of the Boston Public Library on Dartmouth Street. On arrival, officers spoke to the victim who stated that he was inside the library working on his laptop computer when a white male suspect approached, looked at his laptop and stated, “Give me that!!!” According to the victim, he refused and then exited the library. However, as he was exiting the library, the victim says that the suspect struck him in the back of the head with some sort of blunt object. Officers observed that the victim had a laceration in the back of his head. The victim was treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Officers arrested Joseph Whalen, 66, of Yarmouth and charged him with Assault and Battery by Means of a Dangerous Weapon. A search of the suspect enabled officers to locate and recover a small pocket knife in the suspect\’s backpack.