On Saturday, March 26, a 26-year-old man was accused of shoplifting from the Stop & Shop in the South Bay Shopping Center in Dorchester. After being approached by an officer, the suspect, Patrick Craddock, allegedly tried to strangle the Boston police officer at the scene. 
Police were originally called to the scene around 9:45 a.m. due to reports of suspected shoplifting. After an employee accused Craddock of shoplifting goods from the store, an unidentified officer attempted to recover the stolen items and, according to a police statement released on Sunday, March 27, “peacefully” resolve the situation. It was at this point that a violent altercation ensued between the two individuals. 
Allegedly, Craddock wrestled the officer to the ground, removing items from his vest, including his radio—and therefore, his means to call for help—in the process. Craddock then began to try to choke the officer. However, the officer eventually gained control of the situation and was able to call for backup. No further incident was reported as Craddock was taken into custody. 
The unidentified officer was transported to Boston Medical Center with “non-life-threatening injuries,” according to NBC10 Boston. 
According to The Boston Globe, “police found ‘numerous Stop & Shop steak items’ during the arrest, prosecutors said.” 
Sarah Blair, a third-year psychology student at UMass Boston, frequents this Stop & Shop, but was unaware of the incident. After briefly explaining the situation to Blair, The Mass Media asked her: “Knowing what you know about what happened at the Stop & Shop at South Bay Shopping Center, how does that make you feel about your safety shopping there?”
“I know that the Target [in South Bay Shopping Center] got shot up, so that doesn’t really surprise me,” said Blair, “because I know it’s a more rough area. And I think they’re trying to gentrify it, but it’s still going to be hard to not have people like that come in. Like, you’re still gonna have some sort of safety concerns, so it just kinda confirms what I thought about it in the first place. But in the same sense, I guess it’ll make me think to watch myself more. And plus also, it wasn’t directed at any of the customers, either—because it wasn’t directed at any of the customers, I’m still pretty okay with it, but it’s also just like, I mean, people hate cops.”    
The South Bay Shopping Center Target shooting to which Blair refers occurred at the end of March 2021. During this incident, a sliding glass door was shattered by a bullet discharged by a man arguing with three other men outside the store. Customers were still inside during the time of the shooting, but no injuries were reported. All four of the men fled the scene after the shot was fired. 
Craddock was arraigned in South Boston District Court on Monday. He was charged with assault and battery, assault and battery on a police officer, assault and battery strangulation, and shoplifting. Craddock was ordered to be held without bail. 
“Prosecutors said Craddock is also a fugitive from justice in New Hampshire and that authorities intend to move for extradition,” reported NBC10 Boston. 
The Boston Globe states that “a pre-trial hearing for Craddock is set for April 26.”