Boston Police Killings

Officials promise full disclosure in DaVeiga shooting http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/04/13/police_investigating_killing_ask_residents_to_be_patient/ Flanked by ministers and priests, activists in the Cape Verdean community, and political leaders, Boston police officials called on residents yesterday to be patient with them as they investigate the death of Manuel “Junior” DaVeiga, who authorities say shot himself in the head. Dozens of city leaders gathered outside St. Peter Church in Dorchester, where DaVeiga’s funeral was held Friday, to say they support the police and need them to help keep peace in the city as the summer approaches. “We have to pray for the Police Department,” said the Rev. Jeffrey Brown, who runs the Boston TenPoint Coalition. “Pray for their safety. Pray that they’ll be able to make the right decisions at those critical times.” Some Boston residents have expressed anger and allegedly threatened police, following DaVeiga’s death April 3. DaVeiga was struck in the hand, hip, and chest by police gunfire, and then shot himself in the head, according to law enforcement officials. Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley has said DaVeiga started firing at officers in the department’s gang unit after they approached him at a makeshift memorial for his slain friend, Andrew Tavares, who was shot on Maywood Street last month. Since the shooting, law enforcement officials have been trying to reach out to the city’s Cape Verdeans, a community hit hard by DaVeiga’s death. His family is from Cape Verde. On Sunday, representatives of the police and the prosecutor’s office met with up to 200 people for a three-hour-long meeting. Conley and Commissioner Edward F. Davis, who spoke at yesterday’s press conference, promised a full account of what happened that night. On Sunday, police officials said the investigation could take up to two months to complete, according to those who were there. “I ask for your forbearance,” Conley said yesterday. “We’re going to conduct a thorough and complete and detailed investigation that will stand up, that will be done with integrity and fairness.” John Barros, a member of Cape Verdean Community UNIDO who went to the Sunday meeting, said yesterday that he was heartened to hear police say they are committed to transparency. “We walked out of that meeting yesterday like we were more united, like there was hope,” said Barros, who is also head of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative. The weekend meeting and yesterday’s gathering are among many steps community leaders said they are taking to reduce the tensions. Yesterday, friends and relatives of DaVeiga were scheduled to come to the church in the afternoon to talk about their grief, said the Rev. Jack Ahern, who heads three parishes in Dorchester, including St. Peter. Tonight, there will be a peace vigil during which teenagers from the neighborhoods will walk from the church to Hancock Street, close to the area where DaVeiga was shot, Ahern said. Police, anxious to prevent retaliation, remained aggressive on the streets. Over the weekend, gang unit officers arrested two men, one on charges of gun possession and the other accused of failing to stop for a police officer. Both are purported members of DaVeiga’s gang, according to two law enforcement officials with knowledge of the arrests. Davis said his department’s relationship with the community is key to preventing violence. “We want to have a safe summer,” he said. “We want to work closely with the community . . . That’s exactly what we’ll deliver to the people of the city.” Nilda Amado, a 17-year-old junior at Boston Latin Academy who spoke yesterday, said many people her age feel unsafe. A friend of Tavares, she wore a pin with his picture on it. But she said she is weary of wearing such symbols. “I’m fed up,” she said. “I’m tired of waking up on a beautiful day and finding out someone close to me died by gunshots.” By Maria Cramer Globe Staff / April 13, 2010

A guard has been posted at gang unit headquarters since a fatal shooting. (Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff) City police have been on high alert and taking unusual safety precautions since Saturday, when the death of a 19-year-old in a shootout with gang unit officers sparked threats of retaliation. Since Sunday, an armored truck from the department’s SWAT team has been parked outside the gang unit headquarters in Dorchester, with an officer in protective gear standing sentry. Officers who patrol the city’s toughest neighborhoods have been ordered to ride tandem until further notice, barred from driving alone because that practice is now viewed as too risky. Gang unit officers have been advised to put untraceable license plates on their personal cars and are being told by supervisors to be vigilant as they go in and out of their headquarters, according to law enforcement officials with knowledge of the precautions. The tension arises from a fatal shooting Saturday night, in which three Boston officers and a state trooper chased Manuel DaVeiga on a Dorchester street after approaching him at a makeshift memorial to a slain teenager. The teenagers and the police officers fired on one another, and DaVeiga was killed. Prosecutors say DaVeiga fired first, with a .45-caliber handgun, and then shot himself in the head after being wounded in the hand, hip, and chest by police. But some community activists say many residents are skeptical and are urging a complete investigation that will describe what happened that night. Anger over the shooting began almost immediately and has apparently not been assuaged by Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s assertion that DaVeiga shot himself. Immediately after the shooting, an angry crowd gathered at the scene and yelled threats at officers, police said. Since then, the department has received more threats of retaliation, though police declined to be specific. “We are taking those threats very seriously,’’ Elaine Driscoll, spokeswoman for the Boston Police Department, said yesterday. “Unfortunately, such threats are not an unusual occurrence after a traumatic incident . . . Officer safety is paramount, and the department will take any precautions necessary to ensure the protection of officers.’’ The Rev. Eugene F. Rivers III, who runs the Ella J. Baker House in Dorchester, said he plans to hold a press conference this morning urging those concerned by the shooting, particularly teenagers, to tone down their rhetoric and remain calm. As the summer approaches, he said, it is imperative that city police and neighborhood leaders work together to keep down tensions on the street. “The community must stand with the police and communicate that one does not shoot at cops, and one should not talk about or threaten, in whatever idle fashion, about shooting’’ police, Rivers said. Rivers said he has grown concerned about the threats after speaking with young people on the street. “Certain young people have been toying with the rhetoric of shooting at cops,’’ Rivers said. “Some feel that the shooting incident was unjustified, that the young man had mental illness so he should not have been shot.’’ DaVeiga, who according to court records was associated with a gang, had been diagnosed with several psychological conditions, including bipolar disorder, psychotic disorder, and post-traumatic stress syndrome, according to court records. He had often dealt with depression and anger, according to the records, but his family has said he would not kill himself. Driscoll said that witnesses at the scene saw DaVeiga shoot himself. “Several community member witness accounts, autopsy findings, and specific physical evidence all indicate that Mr. DaVeiga shot himself in the head,’’ she said. “Unfortunately, I’m unable to get more specific at this time. “But we are committed to a transparent investigation, and when appropriate we will provide more details.’’ Jake Wark, spokesman for Conley, whose office is conducting the investigation along with city homicide detectives, said it is difficult to say when the investigation will be finished. “We can’t promise a timetable with so much evidence from so many sources,’’ he said. “The family, the community, and the officers involved deserve a full, meticulous investigation.’’ Many people are eager to learn more details about what exactly happened in the moments before DaVeiga’s death, said the Rev. William E. Dickerson II, pastor of Greater Love Tabernacle in Dorchester. “They’re waiting to hear full disclosure of what took place on that particular day,’’ he said. “It is important that there is this transparency, because it only strengthens the police and community relations.’’ Driscoll said Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis, who met with neighborhood leaders earlier this week, has encouraged members of his command staff to find ways to ease tensions. “The vast majority in the affected neighborhoods are good people,’’ she said. “Officers are aware of that, and we’re keeping that uppermost in our minds.’’ http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/04/09/threats_of_revenge_put_police_on_guard/ By Maria Cramer Globe Staff / April 9, 2010