Former Boston Police Commissioner, Off‑Duty Officer Help Save Choking Man

A team including former Boston Police Commissioner William Gross, an off-duty officer, and a restaurant’s managing partner helped resuscitate an elderly man who choked during dinner the night before Easter.

By Colleen Cronin

Source Boston Herald

April 7, 2026

3 min read

What to know

An elderly man was rescued after choking during dinner at a busy restaurant near Easter by former Boston Police Commissioner William Gross, an off-duty officer and the restaurant’s managing partner.
The man lost his pulse twice before first responders arrived, but lifesaving efforts restored circulation and breathing.
He was rushed to the hospital in stable condition as diners applauded the rescuers.

Former Boston Police Commissioner William Gross, along with an off-duty officer and a restaurant's managing partner, helped saved an elderly choking man Saturday at a dining establishment.

When a man started choking during dinner at the Capital Grille in Chestnut Hill the night before Easter, an unlikely team stepped in to rescue him: the managing partner of the restaurant, an off-duty Boston police officer, and former Boston Police Commissioner William Gross.

By the time Gross arrived at the table, the man, who he said was in his 80s, had already collapsed. He was gray from lack of oxygen. The man’s kids and grandkids had started shouting in the busy restaurant during the holiday weekend, asking for help, “doing all the right things,” Gross said.

“Then, out of nowhere I see one of my officers,” Gross told the Herald in a phone interview.

It was Patrolman Stephen Borne, a community service officer working out of Brighton who was there that night for a dinner with his wife and kids, off-duty.

Together, they got the gentleman into the recovery position, striking him in the back to try to dislodge the obstruction in his throat. Chris Lynch, the restaurant’s managing partner, also stepped in.

“We were sounding like a TV show,” Gross said, recalling asking Lynch to sweep for the blockage, which he was able to successfully remove, then telling Borne to check the man’s vitals.

“You just revert to your training,” Borne said.

Even though the airways were clear, he didn’t have a pulse.

Borne started chest compression; Gross administered breaths.

George Regan, head of Regan Communications Group and a friend of the former commissioner who was dining with him that night, said that at one point, Gross had to tell the packed place to “shut up” just so he could hear if the man was breathing.

“I was a little rude,” Gross said.

Regan, laughed recalling the moment said his friend was a hero.

Although Gross and Borne said they lost his pulse twice, by the time Newton Fire and EMS arrived, the man had been resuscitated and even tried to stand up himself to get into an ambulance.

Borne said he was thankful to be able to put his skills to good use — all officers are trained at the Boston Police Academy and by the Red Cross. Saturday night ended in, “the best case scenario,” he said.

“It was team work,” Gross said. “We’re just happy they had a good Easter.” When talking to the Herald on the phone, he said he was about to call Capitol Grille’s corporate office to commend them for Lynch’s role in the rescue.

Talking about Borne, Gross said, “I still love my troops.”

When the on-duty first responders arrived and the man was taken to the hospital in stable condition, Regan said the restaurant gave them a standing ovation and the management sent over a full desert cart.

Thinking about the coincidence of all being there that night to help at the right moment, Gross said he thanked God, adding “who puts that together?”

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