SUPD dispatcher removed from duty after arrest

A Suffolk University Police Department (SUPD) dispatcher is no longer employed by the university after he was arrested April 17 by state police on charges he brandished a firearm in an alleged road-rage incident that began on Interstate 93 South.

The other driver is alleged to have then pulled a knife on the dispatcher during the altercation, according to reports.

Daniel Bates, 33, of Avon, was arrested on charges including assault with a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace, the Massachusetts State Police said in a press release.

Bates allegedly brandished a privately owned registered firearm during the incident.

Melcher Montes, 42, of Boston, then allegedly pulled out a folding knife, according to CBS Boston. Both motorists were headed southbound on Interstate 93 when the incident unfolded.

Bates was employed by Suffolk University, working first as a security guard before working dispatch, for over a decade before the incident. He is no longer employed by the university, Suffolk University Chief of Police and Security Gerard Coletta told the Journal on Tuesday.

Montes reportedly called 911 and stayed on the phone “while giving dispatchers updated locations of both vehicles,” according to a press release from Massachusetts State Police. Braintree police located the two men on Hancock Street in Braintree, according to the release.

Police seized a handgun from Bates and a folding knife from Montes, according to WCVB-TV.

Bates is licensed to carry a firearm by the state of Massachusetts, according to WHDH-TV. However, he was not permitted to have a handgun “on campus or in the performance of [his] duties” said Coletta.

Coletta said that although Bates holds a license to carry issued by the state, he is not allowed to carry his firearm when he is on university property. He also said that Bates — and no other SUPD officials — are currently authorized to carry firearms when on duty for Suffolk University or when on university property.

“The only time that would be authorized is in the event the university decided to arm their police officers,” Coletta told The Journal. In that case, sworn SUPD officers “would be authorized to carry firearms on campus. Dispatchers won’t, in any circumstances, be allowed to carry firearms on campus or in the performance of their duties, nor would security officers be allowed to carry firearms on campus or in the performance of their duties.”

Montes will be charged by summons for disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace, according to WCVB-TV.

Bates was released and is due back in court in June, according to Boston 25.