Location, location, location for police

Location, location, location for police

By Natalie Sherman  |   Saturday, April 23, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage

New tracking technology is making police work more efficient, even as it creates gray areas in the legal code, experts say.

“This is the wild, wild west,” said Tom Nolan, an associate professor of criminal justice at Boston University and a 27-year veteran of the Boston Police Department. “Legislative bodies and courts are years away from being able to establish any body of law to deal with this.”

Nolan and other experts expressed concern amid a furor over research revealing that what Nolan refers to as “too-smart phones” — such as the Apple iPhone and the Motorola Droid — store user location data.

Such data has long been a boon to cops, who routinely petition cell phone companies for access to customer information.



In Burlington, mapping technology allowed police to predict the next time and location in a string of home burglaries with almost 70 percent accuracy, said Glen A. Mills, president of the Massachusetts Association of Crime Analysts.

“In the past, we would have flooded the area for weeks at a time, and it would have cost massive amounts of money,” Mills, a lieutenant in the Burlington Police Department, said. “Now we can make predictions on the dates and time when crime is more likely to happen.”

But civil liberties experts warned of a dark side.

“Our phone carries so much data about us — where you go, what you do, who you know,” Massachusetts ACLU privacy rights coordinator Kady Crockman said. “The exposure of this really private information could lead to all sorts of privacy nightmares.”

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1332709

READ MORE - Location, location, location for police

SJC: Odor of marijuana not enough to order suspect out of car

SJC: Odor of marijuana not enough to order suspect out of car

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

The odor of burnt marijuana is no longer enough for police officers to order a person from their car, now that possession of less than an ounce of marijuana has been decriminalized in Massachusetts, the state's highest court ruled today.

"Without at least some other additional fact to bolster a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, the odor of burnt marijuana alone cannot reasonably provide suspicion of criminal activity to justify an exit order," the court ruled in a decision written by Chief Justice Roderick Ireland.

The court said the people's intent in passing the ballot question decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana was "clear: possession of one ounce or less of marijuana should not be considered a serious infraction worthy of criminal sanction."

FULL STORY HERE
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2011/04/sjc_odor_of_mar.html

READ MORE - SJC: Odor of marijuana not enough to order suspect out of car

SHOT BY THE POLICE: BOSTON & BEYOND

LOCAL COP SHOOTINGS

This list is a compilation of cases from Boston, Cambridge, Framingham and the Cape. Each incident is the responsibility of that Police Department, but still is indicative of a Statewide and Nationwide epidemic of People of Color being killed by Police.

BPD Killed 5 people in 1988 alone. 4 out of 5 were Black
BPD Killed 6 Between 1995 and Nov. 2000
BPD Killed 8 Between Nov. 2000 and Sep 2002
BPD Killed 2 Between June 2004 and July 2004
BPD Killed 3 from 2005 to present
All Victims were Black, Latino and Cape Verdean

BPD now has a regulation that expressly forbids firing at a vehicle, unless the occupant first displays a weapon. Former commissioner Paul Evans put that rule on the books in 2002, to mollify a public aghast at eight fatal civilian shootings by Boston police officers in a 23-month stretch, culminating in Eveline Barros Cepeda (a 20 yr. old Mother) being shot unarmed in the back of a car. The BPD has a pattern of determining that these shootings are "justifiable" and The Boston Globe stated that the shooting of Willie Murray, jr. 2/12/02 is the first time since 1991 that a Boston Police officer faced criminal charges in a fatal shooting, the city later paid $75,000 settlement (6/29/07).

January 11, 2011 Eurie Stamps, Sr., 68 yrs. old Retired 68-year-old bus MBTA mechanic was shot by a Framingham police officer during a drug raid at his home. According to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office it was an accident. The actions of Officer Paul Duncan ‘‘do not rise to the level of criminal conduct,’’ and ‘‘do not support a criminal charge,’’ the DA said. More coverage of Eurie Stamps, Sr. shooting and death

April 3, 2010 Manuel "Junior" DaVeiga, 19 yrs. old 19 yrs. old Shot by BPD in Dorchester, investigation ongoing, Suffolk DA and BPD say he shot himself in the head which was the fatal and final shot. More information coming soon. RIP Manuel July 3, 1990 - April 3, 2010 *Questions are now arising as to Mental Health Issues More coverage of Manuel "Junior" DaVeiga shooting and death

August 11, 2009 (Dartmouth, MA) Joseph M. Ramos, jr. 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. Joseph suffered from a dehabilitating disease which make the police version of events impossible. Joseph’s Civil Rights were violated and he was wrongfully killed by the Police. If Joseph was not a Man of Color, he would be alive today. More coverage of Joseph M. Ramos Murder

November 21, 2007 Marquis Barker 38 yr old Father of Five, Suffolk County Jail Officer - Nashua 18 yrs. Killed Wed. Nov. 21st, 2007 by Boston Police at Walgreen's on Corner of Norfolk & Morton St. *Mental Health Issues **5th Fatal Shooting since 2002 More Coverage of Marquis Barker's Murder

October 3, 2005 Stanley Seney 28 yrs Old. Killed Oct. 3 2005 in the Theatre District

July 2, 2004 Luis Gonzalez, 57 years old More Coverage of Luis Gonzalez's Murder Gonzalez, 57, who weighed no more than 110 pounds, was fatally shot inside the Tremont Street apartment he shared with his mentally retarded 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. *Mentally Ill Person **Dirty Cop Keeler Involved

June 27, 2004 Bert W. Bowen 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) More Coverage of Bert Bowen's Murder

September 25, 2002 Eveline Barros-Cepeda 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.

July 15, 2002 Daniel Furtado 59 yrs old (Cambridge, MA) On July 15, 2002 Cambridge Police broke down the door of Daniel Furtado, and shot him dead in his home. He was accused of cutting a cable TV wire, a misdemeanor. Police had no warrant, nor a court order to enter his home. * 8 Man Swat Team 3-4 rounds More Coverage of Daniel Furtado's Murder *Mentally Ill Person

July 2, 2002 LaVeta Jackson, 36 yrs old On July 2, 2002 Boston Police shot and killed LaVeta Jackson in her home. She suffered from a psychiatric illness. *3 Cops 15-20 rounds *Mentally Ill Person

May 2002 Nelson Santiago In May 2002, two officers shot and killed Nelson Santiago after he allegedly rammed a stolen car into their cruiser in Roxbury.

February 12, 2002 Willie L. Murray jr.  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.

July 15, 2001 Rene Romain  19 yrs old killed in Mattapan July 15, 2001 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

May 29, 2001 Jose Pineda

December 27, 2000 Ricky Bodden, 29 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.

November 27, 2000 Carlos M. Garcia

March 24, 1994 Rev. Accelyne Williams, 75 years old 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!

January 31, 1988 Donald Johnson killed in Jamaica Plain Donald Johnson (shooting victim) 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; he adds that four of those five suspects were African American. **5th killing in 1988 4 out of 5 dead were blacks

1981 Levi Hart 14 yrs old killed in Roxbury 1981 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.)

January 1975 James Bowden 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.

READ MORE - SHOT BY THE POLICE: BOSTON & BEYOND

Statie hits brakes on carjacking try

Statie hits brakes on carjacking try

By James Hinton  |   Monday, March 28, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage

A state trooper’s timely intervention saved a livery driver and led to two arrests after he foiled a violent carjacking in Roxbury early yesterday morning.

The 57-year-old driver picked up the two suspects outside a bar in Brighton and was taking them to South Boston when one man jumped in the front seat and began choking him, cops said. The second suspect then climbed into the front seat and joined in the assault, the driver told police.

The driver was able to fight off his attackers, put the car in park, grab the keys and bail out.

Trooper Timothy Burns noticed the commotion at the intersection of Melnea Cass Boulevard and Washington Street. He ordered the two passengers to the ground and placed them under arrest.

Alexander Decosta, 20, of South Boston and Christopher Stutzman, 23, of Dorchester were charged with carjacking, assault and battery and disorderly conduct. Both are due in Roxbury District Court today.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1326526

READ MORE - Statie hits brakes on carjacking try

Man in fatal police shoot identified

Man in fatal police shoot identified

By Herald wire services  |   Thursday, February 24, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage

A man killed in Ashby by a state police trooper conducting drug surveillance Tuesday has been identified as Roger Reyes Padilla of Fitchburg, according to the Middlesex District Attorney’s office.

Padilla, 21, allegedly tried to run down the trooper after the officer ordered him repeatedly to get out of his car, the DA’s office said. The trooper fatally shot Padilla to avoid being hit, officials said.

Authorities discovered drugs at the scene, the DA’s office said, adding the investigation into the shooting is ongoing and further details, including the name of the officer involved, will be released upon its completion.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1319009

READ MORE - Man in fatal police shoot identified

Sex offenders appear on most-wanted list – again

Sex offenders appear on most-wanted list – again

By Laura Crimaldi and Richard Weir  |   Friday, February 4, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage

Two of the state’s most heinous sex offenders are making repeat appearances on the new list of 10 “most-wanted” predators — even though both fiends fell into the hands of authorities within the past five years, the Herald has learned.

“It’s an embarrassment,” said Wendy Murphy, a former sex crimes prosecutor and New England School of Law professor. “The whole purpose to give a guy a Level 3 (sex offender dangerousness rating) is that he will re-offend. It’s not like he might. It’s a virtual certainty that he will. If you have that guy a second time and he doesn’t get tossed in the can — if you can’t hold that guy — there is something wrong with the system.”

Caesar J. Delgado, 44, who was convicted of indecent assault and battery on a child and first appeared on the state police list of most-wanted sex offenders in 2009, was hunted down in Rhode Island and ordered to wear a GPS bracelet, said state police spokesman David Procopio.

On Oct. 26, Delgado was arraigned for allegedly failing to register as a sex offender, said Cara O’Brien, a spokeswoman Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone. Prosecutors did not make a bail argument against Delgado because he was already being held without bail for a probation violation, she said.

Prosecutors yesterday were unable to say what the outcome of the probation case was. Delgado — who is also facing new charges of rape of a child with force and of indecent assault and battery on a child — cut off his bracelet Nov. 30 and has been on the lam ever since.

Samuel Harper Jr., 46, was convicted of multiple counts of rape of a child with force and assault to rape that date back to 1990, according to state police and court records. His first appearance on the most-wanted list was in 2005, and he was successfully nabbed by troopers, Procopio said.

Yesterday, prosecutors were unable to say what the outcome of that case was or how Harper ended up back on the street.

State Sen. James Timilty (D-Walpole), co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Public Safety, said lawmakers need to take a hard look at how sex offenders can be released after failing to register — a crime that carries a five-year sentence — and allowed to vanish a second time.

“That law is in place for a reason,” Timilty said, adding that such releases frustrate investigators who track down fugitives and threaten society’s most “vulnerable population” — children. “If the person tries to slip from the radar screen, their intent is to go dark and escape the watchdog, and I would suggest their intent might also be to reoffend.”

All 10 offenders on the new list are wanted for failure to register as a sex offender — and some are facing new charges as well.

Procopio said 26 troopers are hunting the fugitives. “These people are trying to evade that law and we are trying to catch them,” he said.

The new list also includes men wanted in more than one state for sex crimes, and several who have been arrested repeatedly:

• Elwood J. Johnson, 54, who was convicted of child rape in Washington in 1993, has arrests in Massachusetts going back to the 1970s, according to Timothy Connolly, a spokesman for Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr.

• Child predator Robert H. Griggs Jr., 51, who is also wanted in Texas for failure to register as a sex offender, has a Massachusetts criminal history that goes back to the ’70s and includes assault-and-battery and breaking-and-entering arrests, Connolly said.

One of the 10 on the list, child rapist Franklin Miller, 33 was arrested yesterday at a Boston homeless shelter and ordered held on $5,000 bail, Procopio said.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1314277

READ MORE - Sex offenders appear on most-wanted list – again

Woburn cop, suspect killed in robbery gunfight

Woburn cop, suspect killed in robbery gunfight

By O’Ryan Johnson and Ira Kantor  |   Sunday, December 26, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage

A Woburn police officer was shot and killed tonight in an exchange of gunfire with an armed robber at a Kohl’s department store, according to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office.

One suspect was killed in the gunfight. A second suspect was later arrested by a state trooper without incident, state police spokesman David Procopio said.

The attempted robbery took place about 9 p.m., near closing time. Several officers responded to the reported robbery, and an exchange of gunfire took place.

The police officer was rushed to the Leahy Clinic in Burlington, where police maintained a vigil at the entrance to the Emergency Room. The identity of the slain police officer was not released.

Later, teams of police with K-9 dogs and assault rifles were hunting the large retail complexes in the area for a suspect, going door to door among display model sheds in a Lowe’s parking lot. State police sent nearly 30 troopers to assist loval police in the search.

Officers said they were searching a pickup truck in the Lowe’s lot, adjacent to the Kohl’s building, which they said they believed might have been a getaway vehicle.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1305634

READ MORE - Woburn cop, suspect killed in robbery gunfight

Statistics on hate crimes are sparse Communities chart few, if any, bias offenses

Statistics on hate crimes are sparse
Communities chart few, if any, bias offenses

By Maria Cramer
Globe Staff / December 13, 2010

Hundreds of cities and towns in Massachusetts, including some of the state’s most diverse, report few or no hate crimes, statistics that civil rights advocates say are implausible and troubling.

FULL STORY HERE
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/12/13/statistics_on_hate_crimes_are_sparse/

HATE CRIME GRAPH
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/12/13/hate_graphic/

READ MORE - Statistics on hate crimes are sparse Communities chart few, if any, bias offenses

200 pounds of cocaine seized in Revere

200 pounds of cocaine seized in Revere

By Laura Crimaldi  |   Tuesday, November 30, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage

Two men from Mexico and the Domincan Republic are set to be arraigned today in Chelsea District Court after authorities last night seized nearly 200 pounds of cocaine from a trailer in Revere, prosecutors said.

Gilberto Cruz Padilla, 24, and Rafael Jesus Montero, 22, are each charged with one count of trafficking 200 grams or more of cocaine, said Jake Wark, a spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley.

Padilla last lived in Tijuana, Mexico and Montero last lived in the Dominican Republic, Wark said. No further information was immediately available about their residency status.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were also involved in the arrests, Wark said.

Wark said the charge is the most serious that alleged cocaine traffickers can face even though 200 grams represents a fraction of what authorities recovered. Cops seized the drugs on Railroad Street just before 8 p.m.

Developing..

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1299841

READ MORE - 200 pounds of cocaine seized in Revere

DA identifies dead 16-year-old found in Milton

DA identifies dead 16-year-old found in Milton
By Joe Dwinell  |   Sunday, November 21, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage

A Milton Police cruiser sits at the scene where a mutilated body was found Monday night in the middle of the street in front of 57 Brierbrook Street.
Photo by Matt Stone

The identity of the young man found horribly mutilated on a Milton street almost a week ago has been confirmed by a fingerprint as 16-year-old Delvonte Tisdale of Charlotte, N.C., the Norfolk DA announced tonight.

The teen’s body was found with severe head trauma and his legs and arms were broken, police told the Herald last week. His remains were found on Brierbrook Street near the Blue Hills reservation.

Here’s the release just into the City Desk:

"Using a fingerprint analysis by State Police Crime Scene Services Section, authorities have been able to identify the young man found dead on Monday night in Milton as Delvonte Tisdale, born November 8, 1994, of Charlotte, North Carolina, Norfolk District Attorney William R. Keating announced tonight.

Massachusetts State Police detectives attached to Norfolk District Attorney William R. Keating’s Office and Milton Police traveled to North Carolina this week to continue the investigation into the identity of the man and the circumstances of his death.

Massachusetts detectives and detectives from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Police Department collected a finger print from a known personal item of Delvonte Tisdale while in North Carolina. That finger print is a match to the finger print taken from the remains of the man in Massachusetts.

The investigation into this death remains active and ongoing."

The Charlotte Observer reports that Tisdale may have been traveling to Baltimore with friends who were headed to Boston. A white Audi A4, called "a car of interest," was spotted in Dorchester and the owners have been interviewed by cops. One is believed to be a Curry College student, police have said.

WBTV in Charlotte reports Tisdale was an ROTC student at North Mecklenburg High School and was last seen on Nov. 14.

Neighbor Carol Brinson told the TV station Delvonte would volunteer to help her take her garbage out.

"He would always stop by and talk, he wouldn’t just wave," Brinson told WBTV. "But he was soft-spoken and sweet and well-mannered; always out in the yard, helping his dad."

"What kind of person would do this to such a wonderful kid?" she told the station.

A hall pass was found on Tisdale’s body that included a name beginning with the letter “D,” followed by “Tisdale,” a signature beginning with the letter “K” and a date: “10/19/2010.”

It proved to be the key break in this grisly missing person mystery.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1297964

READ MORE - DA identifies dead 16-year-old found in Milton

Wanted white supremacist arrested in SD County

Wanted white supremacist arrested in SD County
By Associated Press  |   Thursday, November 18, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  West

VISTA, Calif. — A reputed white supremacist gang member wanted for murder in Massachusetts has been arrested in San Diego County.

City News Service says 23-year-old Daniel Katusich was arrested Wednesday afternoon by a gang task force outside a Vista apartment. Sheriff’s Sgt. Scott Miedecke says another man, 23-year-old Kenneth Ludwig, was arrested on suspicion of harboring a fugitive.

The sergeant says two other men, one of them a cousin of Katusich, were later arrested after drugs and a stolen gun were found in the apartment.

All four men remained jailed Thursday.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/west/view.bg?articleid=1297320

READ MORE - Wanted white supremacist arrested in SD County

Cops struggle to ID beating victim

Cops struggle to ID beating victim
By Marie Szaniszlo  |   Wednesday, November 17, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage

‘NOTHING EVER HAPPENS HERE’: Milton police officers scour the ground around Brierbrook Street yesterday after a mutilated body was discovered there Monday.
Photo by Matt Stone

Milton police yesterday made a public plea for help in identifying a young man whose badly battered and mauled, half-naked corpse was found on a leafy, affluent street.

The victim, a black male in his mid-teens to his early 20s, was wearing only jeans when his body was found about 9:30 p.m. Monday by a passer-by on Brierbrook Street at Parkwood Drive, said Chief Richard G. Wells Jr.

The young man was about 5-feet, 4-inches to 5-feet, 5-inches tall and weighed no more than 120 pounds, with an athletic build and close-cropped hair, Wells said. He had no wallet or tattoos, the chief said.

“Right now, we need the public’s help,” he said. “Whoever this young man is, yesterday he got up. But at 9:30 last night, his body was found in a very gruesome condition.”

The victim’s entire body was mutilated, Wells said. Police returned to the scene yesterday after more of the young man’s remains were found scattered on the sidewalk.

It was unclear, however, whether the young man had been dragged or dropped in the street.

Police had hoped to identify the victim through fingerprints, but he had no criminal record, Wells said. Some of his teeth were also missing.

Police have since received some calls about missing people, Wells said, but the man’s identity and cause of death so far are unknown.

“There’s a multitude of possibilities,” he said. “I really don’t want to speculate.”

The grisly discovery stunned residents in the secluded, suburban neighborhood, not far from Route 28 and the Blue Hills Reservation.

In the 15 years Laurie Macintosh has lived on Parkwood Drive, the only crime she can remember being reported was the theft of some cash from a car several years ago.

“Nothing ever happens here,” said Macintosh, 55. “We’re all mostly small-business owners. . . . I just think of the poor family somewhere that lost their son. It’s creepy that (whoever did this) chose this neighborhood.’’

Chris Tosi, another longtime resident, said he suspects the young man’s body was dumped there by someone looking for a quiet, secluded street.

“I just feel so bad for the boy,” he said.

“The quality of life people enjoy here is truly magnificent,” Wells said. “But . . . crime is mobile. We’re not immune to that.”

Police are urging anyone with information to call them at (617) 698-3800 or, anonymously, at (617) 698-COPS.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1296945

READ MORE - Cops struggle to ID beating victim

Mutilated body found in Milton

Mutilated body found in Milton
By Joe Dwinell and Laura Crimaldi | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage

Photo by Fox25

The state medical examiner is now trying to determine the identity of a young man found hacked up and dumped on a sleepy Milton street last night near the Blue Hills reservation.

"The identity of the young man, who was the victim of obvious trauma, has not been established," said David Traub, spokesman for the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office.

Traub reports Milton cops and state police spent the night on Brierbrook Street hunting for clues in the hacking homicide. Traub said the man’s remains were scheduled to be transported to the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Boston at 4:30 a.m. for an autopsy.

Police report a passerby stumbled upon the horrific scene last night around 9:30. The neighborhood is close to the Blue Hills State Park south of Boston off Route 28.

Milton Police Chief Richard Wells told the Associated Press officers arriving at the scene "encountered a very gruesome situation." Investigators do not believe the victim lived in the upscale neighborhood and Wells says the killing does not appear to be connected to any criminal activity in the area.

According to published reports, police are looking for two cars seen in the vicinity of the murder scene. Other reports state the victim was found wearing only pants and is a light-skinned young man.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1296722

READ MORE - Mutilated body found in Milton

New pot law blamed as violence escalates

New pot law blamed as violence escalates
By Laurel J. Sweet and O’Ryan Johnson | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Politics

BIG TIME: Nantucket police recovered 107 marijuana plants in two separate areas over the summer.
Photo by Nantucket PD

Since recreational marijuana use was decriminalized in Massachusetts last year, pot-related trafficking and violence have escalated across the state, frustrated law enforcement officials tell the Herald.

Smoking weed is not a victimless crime, they say.

“We knew it was going to be a nightmare for public safety and law enforcement. An ounce of marijuana can make a thousand joints,” Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. said. “Question 2 perpetuated a feeling that marijuana is somehow safer than other drugs. It’s another mind-altering substance. What are we doing in this country? Can’t anyone get through the day without a drink or a drug?”

In November 2008, by nearly 2 to 1, Bay Staters voted to snuff out the threat of jail time for possession of an ounce or less of cannabis in favor of a $100 civil fine, proceeds from which are intended to puff up city and town coffers. The law, however, provides no enforcement mechanism for police to collect the money. Stiffer penalties for buying or selling the drug, or possessing more than an ounce, remain in place.

“Marijuana trafficking is no different from the wholesale distribution of any illicit substance. It’s accompanied by guns and violence in the short term and it floods communities with illegal drugs in the long term. It threatens public safety and public health,” said Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley. He said his open trafficking cases — dealing in 50 pounds of pot or more — have hit a historic high since the passage of Question 2 by doubling from roughly two prosecutions at any one time to four.

Several recent high-profile killings have been linked by law enforcement to pot, including:

• The Sept. 30 fatal shooting of Adam Coveney, 29, of Waltham. Four men, including a Newton North High School senior, have been charged in connection with the alleged dealer robbery and murder.
• The Sept. 28 massacre of four people in Mattapan — among them, a 21-year-old woman and her 2-year-old son — allegedly in a pot-dealing turf dispute.
• The May 2009 fatal shooting of Justin Cosby, 21, inside a Harvard University dorm, allegedly in a bid to rob him of pot and cash.
• The June 2009 murder of Tyriffe Lewis, 17, in Callahan State Park in Framingham, where prosecutors say he was lured by two men seeking revenge in a fight over marijuana.

In Boston, where one of the most shocking mass killings in recent city history was pot-related, police Commissioner Edward Davis blames drugs in general for surging violence — 65 murders compared to 44 last year at this time. Of Question 2, he said, “I can tell you I’m concerned. I wish we had gone another way in Massachusetts.”

But Mike Meno of the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project, which helped push Question 2, faults partial decriminalization for the violence: “If they’re worried about the criminal element, the answer is to end the criminalization of marijuana and regulate it like alcohol. Marijuana is not going away. Anyone who believes that is naive. It’s used by millions of Americans.”

Leone said he fears decriminalization has created a booming “cottage industry” for dope dealers to target youths no longer fearing the stigma of arrest or how getting high could affect their already dicey driving. Leone’s combined distribution and trafficking caseload rose from 445 in 2008 to 464 in 2009. This year’s caseload stood at 422 as of last week, on track to match or exceed last year.

Leone, who is handling the Framingham, Waltham and Cambridge murder cases, said, “What we’re seeing now is an unfortunate and totally predictable outcome. It’s a cash-and-carry business.” With more small-time dealers operating, he said, turf encroachment is inevitable. “That tends to make drug dealers angry.”

In Essex County, District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said his marijuana trafficking case load jumped from three in 2007 and one in 2008 to eight in 2009.

“It’s a dangerous business,” Blodgett said. “We’ve had arrests of people who’ve never been involved in trafficking before but got involved in the game. And whenever that happens, there’s going to be violence.”

Wellesley Deputy Police Chief William Brooks III, speaking on behalf of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, said, “The whole thing is a mess. The perception out there among a lot of people is it’s OK to do it now, so there’s an uptick in the number of people wanting to do it. . . . Most of the drug-related violence you see now — the shootings, the murders — is about weed.”

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1296392

READ MORE - New pot law blamed as violence escalates

Sweep busts top gangs of North Shore

Sweep busts top gangs of North Shore
By O’Ryan Johnson  |   Saturday, November 6, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage

GUN SHOW: Some of the 34 guns seized in a gang bust on the North Shore.
Photo by Patrick Whittemore

A swarm of 500 police officers, state troopers and FBI agents from New England fanned out yesterday across the North Shore, where they rounded up dozens of thugs and seized high-powered firearms in order to stamp out violence in gang-ravaged Lynn and Lowell.

The sweep, dubbed “Operation Melting Pot,” targeted members of several street gangs in Lynn and Lowell responsible for out-of-control violence, including murders of rivals, said U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz.

“The people of Lynn deserve a safe community in which to live and raise their children,” she said. “Unfortunately, there are a few individuals, often belonging to violent street gangs, whose illegal activities diminish the quality of life for all.”

Three years ago, an FBI roundup crippled Deuces Wild, the most powerful gang in Lynn, leaving a power vacuum, FBI agent Jeffrey Wood — the man in charge of the agency’s North Shore Gang Task Force — wrote in an affidavit.

“Similar to other experiences, however, the dismantling of the leadership of these gangs eventually emboldened remaining gangs to step into the void,” he added. “The result has been a dramatic increase in gang-related murders, shootings, stabbings and other violence in Lynn.”

Woods’ chilling document details three years of increasing bloodshed, and includes the shooting of a 16-year-old girl, knife fights inside one Lynn school, a gunfight outside another and the shooting of a teenage girl in January whose willingness to testify left her paralyzed by gunfire. Wood states that in September the FBI wire-tapped a hotel room where gang members discussed plans to attack during a baby’s christening.

Standing in front of two folding tables covered end to end with illegal firearms, police chiefs Kenneth Lavallee from Lowell and Kevin Coppinger from Lynn said the arrests and seizures take dangerous tools away from reckless criminals who have the potential to inflict untold tragedies upon their neighborhoods.

“Every time we can take a gun off the street, we prevent a potential tragedy, we prevent a potential death,” Lavallee said.

The operation targeting several warring gangs has lasted the past 18 months and has resulted in 61 arrests. Yesterday the leadership of those gangs were hauled away, which Coppinger said will send a powerful message to any gangbangers in Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Haverhill and Chelsea.

“If you think you can come into our communities, we will target you,” he said. “We will follow you, build cases against you and prosecute you to the full extent of the law.”

The investigation was a wide-ranging probe into leaders and members of the Avenue King Crips, the Bloods, the Gangsta Disciples, the Deuce Boyz and the Latin Kings in Lynn and Lowell. Coppinger said while the gangs may carry the names of nationally recognized gangs, they are at best loosely affiliated.

“They aren’t taking orders from L.A.,” he said, though he added with the massive firepower they wielded, they were no less deadly.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1294383

READ MORE - Sweep busts top gangs of North Shore

Origins of the Boston Police Department: First In The Nation

First in the Nation

The origins of the Boston Police Department can be traced back to 1631 with the formation of the first night watch..
These property owning white men “served and protected” the property of good white citizens and maintained a good Christian public peace.
Slavery was the business of the day, White men were not bound to respect any rights of any black man and Africa was in the middle of colonization and the raping of its natural resources….
**in 1780 Slavery was abolished in Massachusetts when the Mass constitution declared all men “born free and equal” after Slave, Quock Walker sued and won on this most basic of principles..
Boston was the anchor of the original 13 colonies the foundation on which this house of horrors was built less than an hour away Plymouth rock landed on us.
by 1796 the watchmen had a badge, rattle and six foot pole called the hook & bill, The hook to catch and the round bill as a weapon to pummel
In 1838 the Day police were established and the Boston Police forces then consisted of the Day police and the Night Watchmen
**In September of 1850 The Fugitive Slave Law or Fugitive Slave Act was passed by the United States Congress as part of a compromise Southern slavemasters and Northern Free Interests. This act and compromise was the controversy of 1850 and served to heightened Northern fears of a 'slave power conspiracy'
Simalar to fears of the 50's and 60's to now; Black Power, Messiah, Cointelpro, Revolution, Domestic Terrorist
**In April 1851 a Warning was posted in the streets of Boston warning people of an impending life-threatening danger. This danger was the police themselves.
It read: “Caution Colored People of Boston and & all you are hereby respectfully cautioned and advised to avoid conversing with the watchmen and police officers of boston for since the recent order of the mayor and aldermen, they are empowered as kidnappers and slave catchers and they have been actually employed in kidnapping, catching and keeping slaves. Therefore if you value your liberty, and the welfare of the fugitives among you, shun them in every possible manner, as so many Hounds on the track of the most unfortunate of your race. Keep a sharp eye out for kidnappers and have a top eye open.”

**In 1854 The Boston Police was formally founded disbanding both the Day police and Night watchmen and establishing the Boston Police Department which then replaced the old hook & bill with a 14-inch club as the officer’s weapon of choice.

**1863 Emancipation Proclamation
**1865 13th Amendment Abolition of Slavery
So from the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850
until the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863
Or maybe even the Abolition of Slavery in 1865
The Boston Police Department were slave catchers

NOTE:
RACIAL PREFERENCE
The Boston Police Department has shown a favoritism for the European culture, most notably Irish/Gaelic culture, Scottish and Italian. Bagpipes are played at formal functions and kilts are worn. Boston Police Department has even been officially emblazoned with flags representing authorized and sanctioned Cultural Pride. Can you imagine a Puerto Rican, Dominican, Jamaican, Haitian, Trinidadian or Cape Verdean Officer who wanted to alter the official badge of the Boston Police Department to represent their culture or ethnicity? Can you imagine a Black African-American Officer who wished to alter the BPD patch and display a Red, Black and Green Flag?!?

 

READ MORE - Origins of the Boston Police Department: First In The Nation

POLICE COMPLAINT ASSISTANCE PROJECT

If you wish to file a claim against the BPD....

ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union of MA) sponsor the POLICE COMPLAINT ASSISTANCE PROJECT in partnership with Suffolk University Law Students who will assist you in filing a complaint.

http://www.aclum.org/

211 Congress St, 3rd Flr, Boston, MA 02110   I  617-482-3170

READ MORE - POLICE COMPLAINT ASSISTANCE PROJECT

POLICE MISCONDUCT DOCUMENTATION PROJECT

POLICE MISCONDUCT DOCUMENTATION PROJECT

If you want to tell your story of abuse, misconduct, brutality, abuse, corruption, etc.

We want to hear from you.

YOU CAN REMAIN ANONYMOUS. 

If you wish to remain anonymous we can disguise your voice for audio or hide your face for video.

CONFIDENTIALITY GUARANTEED.

We can even have Clergy or Attorney's present.

CALL FOR INTERVIEW 617-297-7721

or email blackstonian@verizon.net

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: If you wish to file a claim against the BPD we will refer you to the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union of MA) who sponsor the POLICE COMPLAINT ASSISTANCE PROJECT in partnership with Suffolk University Law Students who will assist you in filing a complaint.

http://www.aclum.org/

211 Congress St, 3rd Flr, Boston, MA 02110   I  617-482-3170

See the link on Blackstonian here....

http://blackstonian.blogspot.com/2010/10/police-complaint-assistance-project.html

READ MORE - POLICE MISCONDUCT DOCUMENTATION PROJECT

Trooper in gun flap faces status hearing

Trooper in gun flap faces status hearing

By Associated Press | Tuesday, September 28, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage

Photo by Globe Pool

A veteran state trooper and decorated U.S. Army Special Operations sergeant charged with driving drunk and pointing a gun at an off-duty Boston cop faces a state police duty status hearing today.
Timothy Walsh, 41, pleaded not guilty yesterday and was released on personal recognizance. A judge ordered him to give up his guns, avoid alcohol and undergo a mental health evaluation.
Walsh, an 18-year state police veteran, has been on military leave for five years and was decorated for valor in combat while serving in Afghanistan.
Police say Walsh struck several parked cars at about 1 a.m. Saturday, then pointed his gun at the officer, a neighbor, and later fired into his own ceiling. He refused to raise his hands in the air, forcing officers to tackle him, police said. Walsh’s lawyer said his behavior was a “complete aberration.”
In a statement yesterday, state police Col. Marian J. McGovern said, “We . . . recognize his bravery in the service of his country. Nonetheless, the Department has an obligation to review the serious criminal allegations against him and examine his fitness to serve as a . . . state trooper.”
McGovern said a hearing will be held today to determine Walsh’s duty status pending a trial, when Walsh could face discipline or termination depending on the court’s ultimate findings.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1284572

READ MORE - Trooper in gun flap faces status hearing

Trooper faces OUI, assault charges after altercation with cops

Trooper faces OUI, assault charges after altercation with cops

By O’Ryan Johnson | Sunday, September 26, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage

As a U.S. Army Special Operations sergeant Timothy Walsh was awarded an Army Commendation for Valor for storming a heavy machine gun post that had pinned down his men, but as a state trooper his life careened out of control early yesterday morning in an explosion of booze, car crashes and gunfire.
Walsh, 41, an 18-year veteran of the Massachusetts State Police, is accused of pointing his gun at a Boston cop in a bizarre sequence of events that left him facing charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, illegal discharge of a firearm and operating under the influence. He is expected to be arraigned tomorrow.
The incident began when Walsh allegedly slammed into three parked cars along South Monroe Terrace in Dorchester about 1:20 a.m., according to a police report. The racket woke several of his neighbors, one of them an off-duty Hub cop who confronted Walsh at the trooper’s home and told him to wait for police to arrive. Walsh then walked into the hallway, pulled a handgun from a bureau drawer and pointed it at his neighbor and fellow officer, the report states.
The off-duty cop retreated and called police, who arrived in time to hear Walsh fire the gun inside his home. The report states there was a hole in the suspect’s kicthen floor and one in the living room ceiling, indicating he fired more than one shot.
Walsh, who has a license to carry firearms, walked out of his home and was ordered by police to put his hands up and lay down, but refused, according to the report, spurring police to tackle him.
“We are grateful beyond words that no one - not the Boston police officers, not an innocent bystander and not trooper Walsh - was injured, or worse, by gunfire,” said state police spokesman David Procopio. “We thank theBoston Police for the professionalism and restraint with which they handled this incident.”
Procopio said Walsh has been on military leave for the past five years. He had been assigned to Troop D barracks in Norwell, but surrendered his firearm and cruiser when he went on military leave, Procopio said.
Walsh carries the rank of staff sergeant in the Army. In 2009, when he was an engineer sergeant assigned to the Special Operations Task Force in Afghanistan, his 84-commando team was caught in crossfire from enemy AK-47s and heavy machine guns, according to a citation that was read when he was awarded the U.S. Army Commendation for Valor. Walsh leaped from behind cover and charged the enemy.
“He then provided covering fire with his rifle and grenade launcher while the commandos manning the position maneuvered to the north,” the citation reads, as copied in a state police newsletter. Then, “when he noticed his teammate dragging a commando with a life-threatening gunshot wound,” Walsh stood his ground under fire until the wounded soldier was behind cover.
Procopio said an internal hearing Tuesday will determine whether Walsh is placed on unpaid leave.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1284198

READ MORE - Trooper faces OUI, assault charges after altercation with cops