Taunton crossing guard arrested twice in one day and fired – Boston News, Weather, Sports

TAUNTON, MASS. (WHDH) – A former Taunton school crossing guard is expected to appear before a judge for the second day in a row after he was seen shoving news crews Monday, shortly after being accused of assaulting a parent at the exterior of a school.

A mother says a school crossing guard attacked her with a stop sign while she was dropping her child off at school – and it all started with a sneeze.

Louis Chaves, 68, of Taunton, was arrested after officers responded to Taunton High School for a report of a disturbance around 7:30 a.m., police said.

Prosecutors said Chaves attacked a woman in his car as she stopped at the intersection near the high school to sneeze and blow her nose. Chaves allegedly reached into her open window and began hitting her with a hand-held stop sign while calling her names.

“I was literally so shocked that I didn’t even fight back,” said the woman who was attacked. “And he hit it with a stop sign, and that was something you wouldn't have thought about when dropping your kid off at school. It was a nightmare that I was stuck in and had no control over it. It was literally the strangest thing I have ever experienced.

Chaves also allegedly attacked the woman's daughter, who was trying to push the stop sign out the window, prosecutors said.

got out of the car and was knocked to the ground by Chaves, she said. She was taken to hospital with bruises.

“He just needs to get control of himself, or whatever is going on in his life. He just needs to keep it to himself and not take it out on others. I don’t know what he’s going through, but it’s not normal,” the woman said.

Chaves has pleaded not guilty to his charges: three counts of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon. He was released on personal recognizance, but the judge ordered him to have no contact with the woman or her daughter involved in the altercation. Chaves was also fired from his position as a school crossing guard.

Chaves will be back in court Tuesday to face charges related to the alleged assault on the news crew.

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