A man appearing in Dedham District Court for a probation violation hearing sprinted outside and onto the busy street where Karen Read supporters waited for a verdict, a scene that a state trooper described as the “most bizarre spectacle.”

The trooper’s comments came moments after police arrested Quarri Tyree Queen, well over a block away from the courtroom he took off from when the court ordered custody of him.

Queen, who recent records show living in Mattapan, is being held without bail pending sentencing on July 15, according to court documents.

“This is the most bizarre spectacle,” a state trooper outside Norfolk County Superior Court was overheard saying, moments after police chased Queen down and took him into custody.

A witness standing alongside the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds told the Herald that she saw Queen jump over a wall in front of the building before he ran across Ames Street, a road that intersects with High Street.

Queen then appeared to second guess jumping over a fence behind the Dedham Community House as children were outside playing, so he proceeded down Ames Street where police eventually chased him down and took him into custody, the witness said.

“We thought something wasn’t right, but not scared,” the woman said.

A man she was with added, “I thought he was just trying to beat the light. He picked the wrong day to run from the courthouse. There were 50 cops in the area.”

Another witness, wearing a ‘Free Karen Read’ shirt, said: “I was just walking down the street waiting for my girlfriend to come back, so I was standing on a sidewalk waiting, and then all of a sudden someone comes bombing by me, almost knocked me over, and I jokingly said out loud to myself, ‘Jesus, did you just rob somebody or commit a crime?’”

Queen was appearing for two violations, one in connection to an alcohol-monitoring bracelet and the other for contacting a victim, court papers indicate.

Queen was arrested in August 2021 for an “assault and battery on a family member,” according to records. He then violated a probation order in May.

The heavy police presence on High and Ames streets in Dedham became a commonality as the jury in the Karen Read murder trial tried to reach a verdict over the past week before Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial Monday afternoon.

Police stayed relatively quiet throughout the deliberations, outside of a brief clash between Read’s pink-wearing supporters and blue-clad detractors on Friday. That changed around noon Monday, with Queen prompting the frantic foot pursuit, leaving some media, Read supporters, and others puzzled about what exactly happened.

“It makes no sense to run. Why run? It’s summertime, everyone wants to be outside,” said a man inside the courtroom when Queen sprinted out.

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