Former Taunton school crossing guard in trouble after alleged attacks on parents and journalists

Yellow police line,

Bail has been set at $250 for a Taunton school crossing guard accused of attacking a parent with a hand-held stop sign and then physically assaulting journalists outside the courtroom.

If released, 68-year-old Louis F. Chaves must undergo a psychiatric evaluation and fulfill other conditions of his release, a Taunton District Court judge ruled on Tuesday.

Chaves’ appearance on Tuesday came after he reportedly got into a physical altercation outside the courthouse on Monday afternoon with journalists who were covering the indictment of the school crossing guard in connection with the alleged attack on a parent outside a school that morning.

Two journalists were among those who tried to interview Chaves as they left the courthouse, but Chaves allegedly charged at one of them and began kicking him, police and video footage from local television stations show. Chaves then punched the other journalist and threw a tree branch in their direction, police said.

Chaves, who is no longer employed by the Taunton School District, is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon with a shod foot and assault with a dangerous weapon with a stick/branch in connection with the alleged attack on the journalist.

A judge released Chaves on Monday on parole in connection with the earlier attack on his mother, but threatened that he would go to prison if he was arrested again.

Chaves’ chaotic day with police began around 7:30 a.m. Monday when a mother sneezed as she drove past Taunton High School with her children, a police report said.

The mother stopped her car in the middle of the intersection to blow her nose with a tissue. Chaves, however, was not happy about this and approached the passenger window and yelled at her to keep driving, the police report said.

The driver yelled at Chaves because she yelled at her in front of her children, police wrote.

“At this point, the traffic officer stuck his stop sign baton through the passenger window and began swinging it around while calling her a (swear word) and telling her to get out of here with the (swear word),” police wrote. “It is worth noting that while Louis was swinging the stop sign baton inside the vehicle, he struck (the driver’s) daughter… in the arm.”

This prompted the mother to get out of her car and approach the school crossing guard, further enraging Chaves, who allegedly “began attacking her with a stop sign stick” before throwing her to the ground.

The mother accused Chaves of dragging and kicking her. She told WPRI 12 News in Rhode Island, “I ended up with a bump on my head, a bruise on the side of my face and a cut on my wrist. I don’t know what caused him to freak out and act like that… He just didn’t seem to be in his right mind at that moment.”

It didn’t take long for the Taunton School District to take action against Chaves, firing him just hours after the incident with the mother, an official said in a statement.

“As a result of this incident, the school crossing guard has been terminated effective immediately and is no longer an employee of Taunton Public Schools,” officials said.