Boston MA

Armed, Armed - Disputed

Joseph M. Ramos Jr., 42

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Dartmouth, MA August 11, 2009 Latino | Male | 42 Years Old Boston Police Department Mental Health Crisis Armed (Disputed) Born May, 5, 1967, Joseph M. Ramos, Jr. was killed by Dartmouth Police on Aug. 11, 2009. He was shot by Officer Jared White after becoming disoriented and wandering through his neighborhood asking for help. Ramos’s family questioned why police used deadly force on a man who had lived most of his adult life on the street where he was shot and was known to be eccentric, but not violent. Status: Ruled Justified Sources Cape Cod Times Boston Globe South Coast Today Related Cases ArmedArmed – Disputed Boston MABoston Police Department

Marquis Barker
Armed, Armed: Gun, Mental Health Crisis

Marquis Barker, 38

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Boston, MA Morton St. and Norfolk St. Dorchester November 21, 2007 Black | Male | 38 Years Old Boston Police Department Mental Health Crisis Armed: Pellet Gun 38 yr old Father of five, Suffolk County Jail Officer at Nashua for 18 yrs. was killed Wednesday Novemver 21st, 2007 by Boston Police at Walgreen’s on Corner of Norfolk & Morton St. Barker had worked for the county as a jail officer for 18 years. Barker’s wife called police, describing him as mentally disturbed and irrational. Officers responded, finding him holding an apparent weapon and asking to be shot. He then somehow stole a cruiser and led police on a half-mile pursuit. He was shot and killed. His weapon had been a pellet gun. Status: Ruled Justified Sources WBZ Boston Boston Globe Boston Globe Berkeley Beacon Universal Hub Fatal Encounters Boston Herald WGBH Related Cases ArmedArmed: GunMental Health Crisis Boston MABoston Police Department

Armed, Armed: Gun

Stanley Seney, 28

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Boston, MA Theater District October 3, 2005 Black | Male | 28 Boston Police Department Armed: Gun 28 yrs Old. Killed Oct. 3 2005 in the Theater District. Police shot and killed Seney, a 28-year-old murder suspect, in Boston’s Theater District in 2005 after he reportedly opened fire on them, narrowly missing one officer who was taking cover behind a parked car. Status: Ruled Justified Sources Letter to Comissioner (Suffolk Da) Fatal Encounters AP Berkeley Beacon Related Cases ArmedArmed: Gun Boston MABoston Police Department

Armed, Armed: Knife, Sword or Blade, Mental Health Crisis

Luis Gonzalez, 57

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Boston, MA 626 Tremont St. South End July 2, 2004 Latino | Male | 57 Years Old Boston Police Department Mental Health Crisis Armed: Knife Gonzalez, 57, who weighed no more than 110 pounds, was fatally shot inside the Tremont Street apartment he shared with his mentally disabled sister by two cops as he approached them with a knife. Neighbors said they told police the Puerto Rican native was mentally ill before they entered his apartment. Status: No Charges Filed Sources Letter to Police Commissioner (Suffolk DA) AP AP Boston Globe WGBH The Crime Report Getty Images Blackstonian Related Cases ArmedArmed: Knife, Sword or BladeMental Health Crisis Boston MABoston Police Department

Driving, Unarmed

Bert W. Bowen, 40

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Boston, MA Brookford and Blue Hill Ave. Roxbury June 27, 2004 Black | Male | 40 Years Old Boston Police Driving 40 yrs. old killed in Roxbury: Brookford/Blue Hill Ave The June 27 shooting angered the community because Bowen, 40, was shot three times (once in the back of the head) while fleeing after a traffic stop, and because some witnesses said he was unarmed. After an “investigation” the government determined this murder was “justifiable” Officers James Sheehan (3 Shots), Brian Smigielski (4 shots). Status: Ruled Justified Sources Boston Globe Fatal Encounters Brownwatch Related Cases Unarmed Boston MABoston Police Department

Unarmed

Israel Vasquez-Roble, 56

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Boston, MA January 31, 2004 Latino | Male | 56 Years Old Boston Police Department / Alliance Security (Employed by Villa Victoria) A police officer fatally shot Vasquez-Robles as he was driving away from the Villa Victoria housing complex in the South End. Vasquez-Robles, who police identified as a Boston resident, was shot once in the chest by one of 2 Alliance Security guards employed by Villa Victoria after he allegedly drove his car into one security guard and then put it in reverse and backed into the second guard, police said. After he was shot, Vasquez-Robles drove off and crashed his car nearby on Tremont Street, according to police. He was pronounced dead at Boston Medical Center. Status: No Charges Filed Sources WGBH Boston Globe Related Cases Unarmed Alliance SecurityBoston MABoston Police Department

Unarmed

Eveline Barros-Cepeda, 20

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Boston, MA Fayston Street, Dorchester September 25, 2002 Cape Verdean | Female | 20 Years Old Boston Police Department Eveline Barros-Cepeda was shot to death by a Boston Police Officer. She was riding in the back seat of a car that police tried to stop after it ran a stoplight. The car allegedly struck Boston Police Officer Michael Paillat prompting his partner Officer Thomas Taylor Jr. to fire five shots into the car as it sped away. The fatal shooting was the eighth by Boston police officers in a 22-month period between November 2000 and September 2002. Criminal charges were not brought against officers in any of the shootings. The death of the unarmed young mother caused marches, protests, and eventual changes in Boston’s policing guidelines. Status: No Criminal Charges Filed Sources Boston Globe Remarks (Suffolk Count DA) Commonwealth Magazine Fatal Encounters AP Deadly Force Jamaica Plain Gazette The Daily Free Press Mass Live Related Cases Unarmed Boston MABoston Police Department

Armed, Armed: Knife, Sword or Blade, Mental Health Crisis

LaVeta Jackson, 36

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Boston, MA 124 Milton Avenue July 2, 2002 Black | Female | 36 Years Old Boston Police Department Mental Health Crisis Armed: Knife On July 2, 2002 Boston Police shot and killed LaVeta Jackson in her home. She suffered from mental illness. 3 officers fired 15-20 rounds. Police encountered a psychotic Jackson in the cellar of her residence after she had killed her own two young children with a knife. She lunged at officers with the same knife and she was shot to death. Status: Ruled Justified Sources Boston Globe (Op-Ed) Boston Globe Boston Globe (Archive) Fatal Encounters Deadly Force Boston Globe Press Release (City of Boston) Related Cases ArmedArmed: Knife, Sword or BladeMental Health Crisis Boston MABoston Police Department

Driving

Nelson Santiago, 39

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Boston, MA Roxbury May 23, 2002 Latino | Male | 39 Years Old Boston Police Department Driving In May 2002, two officers shot and killed Nelson Santiago after he allegedly rammed a stolen car into their cruiser in Roxbury. Police shot an unarmed man to death as he drove a stolen car toward an officer after a chase, authorities said. It was the sixth fatal shooting by Boston police in 18 months. Police said Nelson Santiago, 39, was driving a stolen Toyota Camry Tuesday when he evaded one set of officers. A second pair later picked up the pursuit and cornered him on a dead-end street. Santiago tried to make a U-turn and struck their cruiser twice, police said. He then allegedly drove toward one of the officers, and both opened fire, striking Santiago multiple times. Status: Unknown Sources AP Related Cases Driving Boston MABoston Police Department

Driving

Willie L. Murray Jr., 37

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Boston, MA Crawford St. Roxbury February 12, 2002 Black | Male | 37 Years Old Boston Police Department Driving 37 yrs old killed in Roxbury, Crawford St. February 12th, 2002 by BPD officer Shawn West (Black Cop) According to the Boston Globe, “For the first time in more than a decade, a Boston police officer could face criminal charges after using deadly force in a fatal shooting. Police and Suffolk County prosecutors said yesterday they will convene a grand jury to investigate the death of Willie L. Murray Jr.” A man sitting in the front seat beside Willie Murray Jr. when he was shot described the terrifying moment. He said he watched as West shoved the barrel of his gun in the crack of Murray’s opened window, ordered him to open the door. Murray was shot after his foot slipped off the brake and the car rolled forward. The grand jury probe was a rare move that may put the case into the hands of a civilian jury. The Boston Globe stated that this is the first time since 1991 that a Boston Police officer will face criminal charges in a fatal shooting. UPDATE: 6/29/07 Five years after Willie L. Murray Jr. was shot to death by a Boston police officer (Black Cop Shawn West) after a traffic stop in Roxbury, the city agreed yesterday to pay $75,000 to settle a wrongful death suit that was about to go to trial in federal court. Status: $75,000 Wrongful Death Settlement Sources Police Policy Studies Council Mass Live Boston Globe / (Archive) Dig Boston Related Cases Driving Boston MABoston Police Department

Armed, Armed: Knife, Sword or Blade

Rene Romain, 19

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Boston, MA Mattapan T Station July 15, 2001 Black| Male | 19 Years Old Boston Police Department Armed: Knife A Boston Globe article reported that a the mother of a Mattapan teenager, after seeing the medical report on her son, claims he was shot in the back last summer without justification by Boston police. Carline Seide-Murphy said the Boston Police first reported that her son suffered a fatal wound to the abdomen. The medical report said her 19-year-old son, Rene Romain, was shot in the back July 15 at the Mattapan Square T station. The police said Romain had threatened two officers with a knife but Family say medical records show Boston police shot man in back. Status: Unknown Sources AP AP Mass Live Boston Herald Autopsy Report (City of Boston) Boston Herald (Archive) Related Cases ArmedArmed: Knife, Sword or Blade Boston MABoston Police Department

Armed, Armed: Knife, Sword or Blade, Mental Health Crisis

Jose Pineda, 31

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Boston, MA East Boston May 29, 2001 Latino | Male | 31 Years Old Boston Police Mental Health Crisis Armed: Knife Jose Pineda, a Salvadoran immigrant who was shot and killed by plaintclothes Boston Police in East Boston. An officer shot Pineda, 31, after he stabbed a plainclothes detective in the leg in 2001. The East Boston man’s family said he was mentally ill and intoxicated at the time. He spoke little English and there were doubts that he understood commands to stop running away from police and drop his weapon. He had been mugged twice in that area, leading his family to believe that Pineda thought it was happening again. Status: Unknown Sources Boston Herald (Letters) Mass Live Related Cases ArmedArmed: Knife, Sword or BladeMental Health Crisis Boston MABoston Police Department

Armed - Disputed

Ricky Bodden, 29

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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