Washington Street resident David Hedison was assaulted by four men at 10:00 AM on Sunday, February 19 as he attempted to back his SUV out of his parking spot in Alley 716, which runs between East Springfield Street and Massachusetts Avenue and between Washington Street and Harrison Avenue.

One assailant opened his car door and tried to drag him out while another grabbed a brick from the ground, one assailant screaming "We know your car, we are the police, we are the devil." The suspects, whom Hedison described as dark-haired, white males in their 20s who appeared "very high and looked like death", fled the alley in a silver Toyota 4Runner, while Hedison, who had dialed 911 at the onset of the assault, followed them in his car to the Blackstone Square where the police caught up with him in his vehicle.

Hedison filed a police report at Boston Police Department (BPD) District 4 at 650 Harrison Avenue. After the attack, Hedison stated via e-mail that he was "very shaken up" and described the violent episode as "the worst event of my life."

After the assault, Hedison parked his SUV on the street in front of his home, only to find an X deeply scratched into the car door on the morning of Monday, February 20. Hedison said that BPD officers told him that the Toyota in which the four suspects were traveling was stolen and that it has been implicated in damage to other vehicles.

Hedison followed up his police report by e-mailing District 3 city councilor Frank Baker and Office of Neighborhood Services liaison Sam Chambers as well as D-4 community service officers Richard Litto and Sergeant Lucas Taxter about the assault and the subsequent vandalism to his car, stating that "I feel like I am being targeted...This is bigger than just a BPD issue."

On Monday, Taxter e-mailed Hedison to inform him that someone from D-4 would follow up with him shortly and Chambers responded, offering to share Hedison's e-mail with D-4 captain Wayne Lanchester. BPD Detective Darryn Brown has been assigned to the investigation. Hedison informed police that several neighbors on Mass. Ave. have security cameras that survey Alley 716 and he hopes that BPD will review footage from those cameras in their investigation.