Boston police arrest ex-firefighter

Former Boston firefighter Albert Arroyo, who was fired after failing to convince department officials he was permanently disabled despite competing in a body-building contest, was arrested last night on charges of violating a restraining order, said a Boston Police Department spokesman.

Officer Eddy Chrispin said Arroyo was arrested at 10 p.m. at a Boston hospital, which Chrispin said he could not identify. He was being held at the hospital under police guard, Chrispin said, because doctors declined to release him into police custody.

He said he was unaware of the specific circumstances of Arroyo's arrest because a report had not been filed. He also did not know if or when Arroyo would appear in court.

Neither Arroyo nor his lawyer, Neil Osborne, could be reached for comment last night.

Arroyo applied to the Boston Retirement Board for a disability pension after reporting that he slipped on a staircase March 21. Dr. John Mahoney, a Dorchester neurologist, determined that Arroyo was "totally and permanently disabled," Mahoney said in a report to the board.

Despite the alleged injuries, Arroyo finished eighth at the 2008 Pro Natural American Championships on May 3. After the Globe published a picture of him during the body-building competition, fire officials ordered him to return to work. When he refused, he was dismissed.

A public official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the 46-year-old Roslindale resident is in the process of appealing his termination from the Boston Fire Department and is trying to get back his disability retirement benefits.

Donovan Slack of the Globe staff contributed to this report.