State Police trooper charged with assault after allegedly punching colleague in viral bar fight video

A Massachusetts State Police trooper who allegedly knocked a colleague unconscious at a Quincy bar was recently charged with assault and battery.

A police report filed in court reveals new details about the altercation, which was captured on surveillance footage and widely shared online. 

The trooper, Christopher Regan, is set to be arraigned in Quincy District Court on one count of assault and battery. 

The altercation occurred on June 26, and Regan was relieved of duty in the days after. The State Police Office of Professional Integrity and Accountability was investigating the incident, a spokesperson said at the time. Both troopers were off-duty when the fight occurred. 

“The conduct depicted is serious and inconsistent with the standards required of every member of this Department, whether on duty or off duty,” the State Police spokesperson said in June. 

Spokespeople for the State Police did not return a request for comment Thursday. 

The viral video, which only lasts a few seconds, shows a man in white shirt and a man in a black shirt shoving each other at a bar. The man in the black shirt then punches the other man multiple times, striking him in the head with a closed fist. He can then be seen grabbing the man in the white shirt’s head and appears to say something to him before onlookers intervene. 

Quincy police were called to the Reelhouse Marina Bay on Victory Road at about 11:45 p.m. on June 26, according to a police report filed in court. When they arrived, they found the victim sitting in a booth holding an icepack to his face. The victim did not want to provide details about what led to the altercation and said that he did not want to press charges. He refused transport to a local hospital and went home under his own power. 

In the days that followed, State Police officials provided identifying information about both Regan and the victim to Quincy police. A Reelhouse employee who intervened told Quincy police that, before the altercation, he overheard conversations about the men being “good friends or work partners.” He said that Regan grew verbally aggressive toward the victim, prompting the employee to go get his manager, according to the report. 

The employee told investigators that the victim suffered severe facial swelling, was bleeding from the mouth, and was “semi-conscious” after being hit. He also said that Regan left before police arrived, according to the report. 

Quincy police also spoke with the bartender who witnessed the incident. She knew both Regan and the victim from serving them before, and said they were always polite. On the night of the fight, Regan came in alone and the victim was with another woman, she told police. The conversation between the three appeared normal for about an hour, until the bartender sensed tensions rising between the two men. She attempted to diffuse the situation by asking Regan “hey buddy what’s going on, relax,” according to the report. 

The bartender believed that Regan was upset about something that was said, and that the victim was trying to deescalate the conversation. She witnessed the alleged assault, called other staff over, and observed that the victim was unconscious on the floor. She believed Regan to be “extremely remorseful” immediately after the incident, but told him to leave because she felt it would restore calm,” police wrote in the report.

The victim was unconscious for about two minutes, the bartender told police, per the report. 

The Quincy police officer who wrote the report attempted unsuccessfully to contact Regan, the victim, and the woman who was with them in the immediate aftermath of the altercation.