Drug investigation yields police vest stolen during 2020 George Floyd protest

Local News

The ballistic vest was allegedly stolen during Boston’s civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, according to police.

Boston police recovered an officer’s bulletproof vest that was allegedly stolen during a protest in May 2020 over the police brutality death of George Floyd.

The vest was recovered during a drug investigation in Dorchester last week, according to police.

Officers arrested Reginald Mells, 44, of Dorchester, and police are seeking complaints against a 25-year-old Dorchester man who was not named.

From May 28 through May 31, 2020, several thousand demonstrators protested in Boston in response to Floyd’s murder while in Minneapolis police custody. Several protesters clashed with Boston officers, resulting in multiple arrests and the use of pepper spray against demonstrators.

According to police, officers found the ballistic vest while executing search warrants near 6 Darlington St. on Sept. 22.

During the search, police say they recovered several illegal firearms and drugs, including 15 plastic bags of suspected crack cocaine.

Investigators said they also found a Colt revolver with six rounds in the magazine, a Remington .223 rifle with two 30-round magazines, an 8mm semi-automatic firearm, a fully automatic Glock with an extended magazine, 24 live .45 and 12 .40 loose rounds of ammunition, and multiple empty magazines.

Mells was arraigned Monday in Dorchester District Court on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and possession with intent to distribute a class B substance, police said.

He pleaded not guilty to all the charges and he was ordered held in lieu of bail, according to a Boston Globe report. Mells is due back in court on Nov. 17.

The 25-year-old suspect will face charges of illegal possession of a machine gun, two counts of illegal possession of a firearm, illegal possession of ammunition, illegal possession of a large capacity feeding device, improper storage of a firearm, possession of body armor, and possession of a rifle without a serial number.