Connecticut Police Department Defends Watermelon Stabbing Arrest

Ever since Carmine Cervellino, 49, of Thomaston, was charged with threatening after stabbing a watermelon in a “passive aggressive manner” the story has gone viral. 

Newspapers and websites from coast-to-coast are retelling the bizarre story that was first reported by the Torrington Register Citizen. 

And now Thomaston Police Chief James Campbell is defending the arrest. He told the Register Citizen that officers relied on the victim’s account and she believed the suspect was trying to intimidate her by leaving a large butcher knife in the watermelon for her to see. 

The woman believed it was a menacing gesture, the paper reports. Police believe Cervellino stabbed the watermelon because he was angry at the woman, the Register Citizen reports. 

The Register Citizen reports that police never interviewed Cervellino or other witnesses before arresting him. 

The man was charged with second-degree threatening and disorderly conduct. 

Read the full Torrington Register Citizen story here.