Cops receive training that keeps them alive at crucial points in their lives. This training does not just go off when they take off their uniforms, and they are to act responsibly regardless of the situation they find themselves.
This is why many were shocked last month at Disney World when a former Massachusetts police detective was arrested for allegedly shoving a deputy and threatening to kill staff members while intoxicated. All the while, he was holding a child, endangering them.
Duane Danforth, 38, is facing charges of battery, battery on a law enforcement officer, and resisting an officer without violence. The incident unfolded on January 30 at Epcot, according to an Orange County Sheriff’s Office arrest affidavit.
Danforth is a detective with the Brookline Police Department in the Boston metropolitan area. He was off duty at the time of his arrest, according to the department’s police chief. He has been on the police force for almost two decades and was Officer of the Year in 2021.
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The arrest affidavit says deputies responded to the United Kingdom Lochside event space on account of a battery. Upon their arrival, they met a staff member who was working at a private event. According to the staff, a man tried to enter the area, but they told him to go around.
That man, later identified as Danforth, allegedly returned and tried to remove some ropes. “I’m going to f—— kill you,” Danforth reportedly told the staff member twice before pushing them aside.
A second staff member witnessed the confrontation. He claimed Danforth “had a crazy look in his eyes and appeared intoxicated” while holding a young girl. He also reported that Danforth shoved him.
Some Epcot guests reportedly got the altercation on camera and shared the footage with a Disney World convention guide coordinator, who made sure it got to the deputies.
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Danforth is facing accusations of pushing a deputy who tried to make contact with him. They tackled Danforth after the deputy regained balance, and he was put in handcuffs while allegedly resisting.
According to the affidavit, Danforth said he knew the deputy was a law enforcement officer and admitted he should not have pushed the deputy. He alleges deputies approached him from behind prior to apprehension, but they deny that.
He is now on administrative leave and will remain on leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation. Danforth no doubt regrets his actions. However, since he is a longtime cop, there may be more repercussions after the internal investigation.
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The child and those he assaulted on his drunken spree are all okay, and it does not seem like anyone will be pressing charges. Still, his behavior makes one wonder what could have been happening in his life to make him forget his training as a cop and stoop to such degeneracy.
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