A Massachusetts police detective is facing criminal charges in Florida after authorities say he assaulted two security guards and a sheriff’s deputy while at a Disney theme park in late January.
Brookline Detective Duane Danforth, 39, of Wilmington, has been placed on paid administrative leave amid an investigation into a violent altercation that took place at the United Kingdom Lochside at Epcot on Jan. 30, according to Brookline Police Chief Jennifer Paster and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
An Orange County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to Epcot at 1320 Avenue of the Stars in Bay Lake for a report of a battery in process and learned that Danforth was stopped by a security guard when he tried to enter a private event, according to an arrest affidavit.
Danforth then allegedly removed ropes that were in place, and told the security guard, “I’m going to [expletive] kill you,” before shoving him aside, the responding deputy wrote in the affidavit.
A second security guard told the deputy that he heard Danforth repeatedly scream, “I will [expletive] kill you,” and that he had a “crazy look in his eyes and appeared intoxicated,” the affidavit stated. Danforth allegedly pushed this guard as well.