Author name: Dondre

Armed - Disputed

Ricky Bodden, 29

Boston, MA Roxbury December 27, 2000 Black | Male | 29 Years Old Boston Police Department Armed: Disputed Shot in the back of the neck by officer Kyle Wilcox on Dec. 27 in a Roxbury park. Boston Municipal Police officer fired at 29-year-old Ricky Bodden of Dorchester. The shooting occurred after Bodden allegedly ran when the officer tried to question him outside a Dorchester park. The force patrols city-owned buildings. Witness made statements alleging Bodden never pulled a gun on Officer Wilcox, contradicting Officer Wilcox’s report. Status: Unknown Sources Daily Free Press Mass Live Boston Herald Related Cases Armed – Disputed Boston MABoston Police Department

Unarmed

Carlos M. Garcia, 27

Boston, MA November 27, 2000 Latino | Male | 26 Years Old Boston Police Department Unarmed / Unknown Carlos M. Garcia, a 27 year old Puerto Rican father was shot in Dorchester on an early Sunday by Boston Police after a car chase in Boston. After a violent car chase in 2000 that injured two officers and four others, the 27-year-old from Roxbury was shot and killed. Investigators said he had what appeared to be a suicide note in his wallet. Officers opened fire after he allegedly struck other cars and drove the wrong way down a one-way street. Status: Unknown Sources Boston Globe (Archive) Mass Live   Related Cases Unarmed Boston MABoston Police Department

Unarmed

Rev. Accelyne Williams, 75

Boston, MA March 24,1994 Black | Male | 75 Years Old Boston Police Department SWAT Team Unarmed Acting on a wrong address from a bad tip by an informant, the police conducted a no-knock raid on Retired Methodist minister Accelyne Williams’ Boston, MA apartment. The door was battered down and Williams was chased around his home by a SWAT police team looking for drugs and guns. Williams was tackled to the floor and his hands tied behind his back. Williams collapsed and died of a heart attack at the age of 75. No guns or drugs were found, as it was soon discovered they raided the wrong apartment. Status: No Criminal Misconduct Found Sources Links New York Times Human Rights Watch Chicago Tribune Christian Science Monitor AP Death of Reverend Accelyne Williams, Ralph C. Martin II (DA’s Report) Washington Post UPI   Related Cases Unarmed Boston MABoston Police DepartmentSWAT

Armed - Disputed, Armed: Knife, Sword or Blade

Nathaniel Lackland, 25

Boston, MA Jamaica Plain June 5, 1991 Black | Male | 25 Years Old Boston Police Department Armed: Gun In June of 1991, Nathaniel Lackland, was shot in back of head by Boston police officer Leo J. Ronan. The officer claimed that he was defending himself against Lackland. According to his testimony, the 25-year-old father of three was allegedly slashing at him with knife inside hallway of a Jamaica Plain housing development, and Ronan fired one bullet into the back of his head. The Suffolk County District Attorney, which at the time was Newman A. Flanagan, determined the killing as self-defense, and thus a “justifiable homicide.” Lackland’s family filed a wrongful death civil rights lawsuit, demanding to know how he could have been shot directly in the back of the head while supposedly facing the officer. After weeks of deliberation, in what many family members and activists saw as collusion between the Boston Police and District Attorney’s office, Ronan was exonerated from wrong doing. Flanagan determined that the bullet wound was result of Lackland twisting around from misplaced “roundhouse swing of his knife. Status: Ruled Justified Sources Aren R. Lebrun Related Cases Armed – DisputedArmed: Knife, Sword or Blade Boston MABoston Police Department

Unarmed

Christopher Rogers, 16

Boston, MA Dorchester July 12 1991 Black | Male | 16 Years Old Boston Police Department Shot and killed by Boston Police officer James Hall in Dorchester in July 1991. * The date of July 19, 1991 is the funeral date. Status: Officer Convicted of Manslaughter Sources   Boston Globe Spin – Google Books AP Related Cases Unarmed Boston MABoston Police Department

Driving, Unarmed

Donald Johnson, 18

Boston, MA Rocky Nook Terr.Jamaica Plain, MA January 31,1988 Black | Male | 18 Years Old Boston Police Department Unarmed Driving Killed in Jamaica Plain. Donald Johnson was shot dead by police while he was driving a stolen bus. Boston Police shot and killed five suspects of non-violent crimes in 1988; Four of those five suspects were African American. Status: Unknown Sources   AP WGBH WGBH – Say Brother Related Cases DrivingUnarmed Boston MABoston Police Department

Armed - Disputed, Armed: Knife, Sword or Blade

Vincent Mancuso, 18

Boston, MA South Boston May 1, 1986 White | Male | 18 Years Old Boston Police Department Armed: Knife (Disputed) Mancuso was shot in the back of the head by Boston Police officer Joseph Quinn after police said Mancuso stole a vehicle, led police on a short car chase, and then lunged at Quinn with a knife. Mancuso died several days later. * In the case of unknown exact dates of death we will use either the 1st of the month or any publicized funeral date Status: Settled for $500,000 Sources Boston Globe When and Where in Boston Related Cases Armed – DisputedArmed: Knife, Sword or Blade Boston MABoston Police Department

Unarmed

Elijha Pate, 19

Boston, MA Haviland St.Back Bay, Boston September 1,1983 Black, Male, 19 Boston Police Department Unarmed Shot and killed by Boston Police officers in Back Bay in September 1983. * In the case of unknown exact dates of death we will use either the 1st of the month or any publicized funeral date Status: Ruled Justified Sources NY Times Boston Globe Boston Globe (Archive) The Harvard Crimson   Related Cases Unarmed Boston MABoston Police Department

Unarmed

Levi Hart, 14

Boston, MA Roxbury,MA July 15,1980 Black, Male, 14 Boston Police Department Unarmed 14 yrs old killed in Roxbury 1980 by BPD Officer Richard Borque Levi Hart, a 14-year-old African American youth from Roxbury, Mass., was killed in a police chase. Hart, and two other Roxbury youths had stolen and car. When the officers caught up to them, Hart was shot, arguably by Richard Bourque in an act of police brutality. * In the case of unknown exact dates of death we will use either the 1st of the month or any publicized funeral date Status: Unknown Sources Boston Globe   Related Cases Unarmed Boston MABoston Police Department

Unarmed

James Bowden, 25

Boston, MA Mission Hill Housing Projects January 29, 1975 Black, Male, 25 Boston Police Department Unarmed In January 1975 two white undercover Boston police officers gunned down an innocent black man at the Mission Hill housing project, and then were accused along with other Boston police in a bungled scheme to cover it up. While on stakeout on a suspected getaway car used in an armed robbery, the two gunned down a black man who entered the car. The two claimed the man had a gun and they shot in self-defense. Police investigation decided it was a rightful shooting. The man’s widow knew her husband would not be carrying a weapon and became determined to prove her husband’s innocence. Attorney Lawrence O’Donnell of Boston, a former officer himself, conducted a three-year investigation on behalf of the widow, Patricia Bowden, which prompted two federal juries to agree in a historic verdict that the death of James Bowden “was malicious, willful, wanton or reckless,” and the result was a landmark legal decision which included a settlement of $843,000 for Bowden’s widow and two children. In more than 100 years, no one had won such a judgment against any police department. Former Boston Phoenix reporter Dave O’Brian was on assignment to write a feature story about Boston’s Tactical Patrol Force, O’Brian was in the back seat of the police cruiser along with a news photographer. When the shooting occurred, he was crouched on the floor in fear. His role became crucial, though, because his notes about what happened in the aftermath contradicted police. Looking for a tall, thin man, the police stake out the wrong car, then shoot a man who’s 5 feet 4 and weighs 180 pounds and who’s never been accused of a crime. Their versions in court contradict those of eyewitnesses, and also one another. A gun is planted at the scene to incriminate Bowden, but it’s the wrong type. Crucial tape recordings from the dispatcher’s office are missing. The police arrest O’Donnell’s son on a trumped-up charge, and beat him. The film and book ‘A Case of Deadly Force‘ were based on the case. Status: Judgement – Federal Sources New York Times People Blackstonian Related Cases Uncategorized Boston MABoston Police Department

Unarmed

Charles Phillip Barton, Age:Unknown

Boston, MA Fenway – near the Muddy River 1974 Black | Male | Unknown Boston Police Department Massachusetts State Police Unarmed Brought to our attention by members of his family who say Charles Phillip Barton was murdered by the Boston Police Department in 1974 in the Fenway near the muddy river. Status: Unknown Sources Family Facebook Post Related Cases Unarmed Boston MABoston Police DepartmentMassachusetts State Police

Armed, Armed: Knife, Sword or Blade

Nathaniel Smith, 15

Boston, MA Dorchester March 1,1973 Black | Male | 15 Years Old Boston Police Department Armed: Knife (Disputed) Nathaniel Smith was shot and killed by Boston Police patrolman Thomas Clifford after a car chase. Police said Clifford pursued what he suspected was a stolen automobile until the vehicle came to a stop in Dorchester. The Globe wrote : “Police said Smith jumped from the car when Clifford approached, pulled out a 4-inch or 5-inch knife and slashed at the officer. According to police, Clifford then pulled his revolver and shot Smith in the chest.’’ Two other young people in the car fled, and were later captured by police. A month later, many black Bostonians said the explanation for the shooting was “unsatisfactory.’’ “They base their dissatisfaction on eyewitness accounts that Smith never left the back seat of the car and that his chest wound apparently had a downward trajectory,’’ the Globe said. In addition, the suspected stolen vehicle had been stripped of its back seat by police. And Smith’s mother said she was in possession of the only knife her son owned: his Boy Scout knife. “Before it’s over,’’ said Marvin Harrell of the NAACP’s Boston chapter, “someone is going to have to give us some answers.’’ The FBI began investigating the case to see if Smith’s Civil Rights had been violated. About 20 witnesses testified before Judge Francis Larkin in mid-May. By August, the investigation still hadn’t been publicly released. Meanwhile, a policeman who shot another 15-year-old, Michael Pender, was charged with manslaughter three weeks after that shooting. Pender was white, and Smith black. The contrasting legal treatment of the two shootings struck some as evidence of a racial double standard. “This shows how little regard there is for black lives,’’ state Rep. Mel King told the Globe. Suffolk County closed the case in September, ruling that Clifford was justified in shooting Smith. “The Smith boy was in an upright position and springing toward the officer at the time the officer (Clifford) fired the shot,’’ Judge Larkin ruled. * In the case of unknown exact dates of death we will use either the 1st of the month or any publicized funeral date Status: Ruled Justified Sources Links Boston Globe Related Cases Uncategorized Boston MABoston Police Department

Unarmed

Jackie Johnson, 16

Boston, MA South End June 1 ,1972 Black | Male | 16 Years Old Boston Police Department Johnson, a 16-year-old, was shot and killed by a Boston policeman in the South End while running away from authorities. Johnson was spotted climbing into the back window of a home, according to the Globe. Johnson fled the home with “the proceeds of the crime’’ in hand and ran toward a double gate, the Globe said: “A police officer screamed ‘Halt.’ Finally, police said, he fired a warning shot. The youth was perched at the top of the fence. The officer fired again. Seconds later, Jackie was dead.’’ The bullet hit Johnson in the neck, police said, and he was declared dead shortly after being admitted to the hospital. He did not have a weapon. Afterwards, Boston police said the shooting appeared to be justified. “There was a young man caught in the act of committing a felony, and there was no other means of apprehending him,’’ Superintendent William Bradley said. “It appears that all other means of preventing his escape had passed the police officer. He took this means of apprehending him.’’   Status: Ruled Justified Sources Links Boston Globe Related Cases Uncategorized Boston MABoston Police Department

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