Alum charged with assault, battery in Boca Raton

Alum Austin Silverstein was arrested for multiple batteries and criminal mischief.

Courtesy of Palm Beach County Jail.

Courtesy of Palm Beach County Jail.

Gillian Manning, Copy Desk Chief
March 23, 2021

Editor’s note: a detail was modified to accurately reflect the police report. 

On March 17, the Boca Raton Police Department arrested FAU alum, Austin Silverstein, for criminal mischief, domestic battery, battery on a medical care provider, and assault/battery on an officer. Boca News Now reported the news first.

According to Silverstein’s LinkedIn, before graduating in 2019, he became a member of the  Alpha Epsilon Pi Jewish fraternity and the university’s Business and Economics Polling Initiative which “conducts surveys on business, economic, political, and social issues.”

The police report states that Silverstein’s girlfriend of 15 months had been out drinking before a verbal altercation between the two of them began over an ex-boyfriend of hers. 

An officer arrested him just before 7 p.m. after he allegedly “pushed her with both of his hands causing her to fall into the bushes” outside of a local CVS, the police report states. The officer at the scene noted that Silverstein’s girlfriend had cuts on her arms. 

Silverstein then allegedly “removed his belt and began to scratch” another victim’s car with the buckle, causing $1,000 in damages. 

While officers transported him to the Boca Raton police station, he began to hit his head on the plastic window within the police vehicle. In response, a fire rescue team transported him to the Boca Raton Regional Hospital. As he was being escorted through the hospital, the police report states that Silverstein spat on the face of a firefighter. 

At the hospital, the reports state, Silverstein was taken to receive a CAT scan. As the hospital staff attempted to give him the CAT scan, he kicked a technician in the shoulder.

It is unclear if Silverstein is out on bail at this time. 

On March 23, a Boca Raton city spokesperson declined to provide further information on the case, instead, instructing the University Press to file a formal records request.

The UP will update the story as more information becomes available. 

Gillian Manning is the Copy Desk Chief for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, tweet her @gillianmanning_ or email [email protected].