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Somerville cop shot in line of duty

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Somerville cop shot in line of dutyBy O’Ryan Johnson  |   Wednesday, November 3, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage SHATTERED: A car riddled with bullet holes is investigated by detectives last night on Gibbens Street.Photo by Matthew Healey A decorated Somerville police officer working with federal agents was shot in the chest last night on Gibbens Street when they went to serve a warrant and gunfire erupted, authorities said. The officer was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was in critical but stable condition last night, a source said. The suspect, who had opened fire on officers, was shot and killed, according to The Associated Press. Police did not release the name of the officer or suspect. Law enforcement sources said the Somerville officer was connected with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and had been working with ATF agents in recent months. He was with two ATF agents yesterday about 6:30 p.m. when they went to serve a warrant on Gibbens Street. At some point during the arrest there was an exchange of gunfire, the source said. Somerville Police Chief Michael Cabral said the veteran officer was the first Somerville cop he knows of to be shot in the line of duty. “I’ve been on the job 23 years, and I’ve never had to come to come down here for something like this,” he said, addressing reporters with Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone in front of the hospital last night. Curtatone said he has known the officer and his family for years. Several members of the officer’s family are holding vigils inside their homes tonight and praying for his safe recovery, Curtatone said. A source said two bullets were removed from the officer’s chest and his hand was also injured. “He’s an extraordinary officer,” Curtatone said. “He comes from a great family. We’re asking everyone to pray for him.” Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone’s office, which is investigating, had no immediate comment. ATF also declined to comment last night. Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1293521

News, Youth

One dead in double stabbing on MBTA bus

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One dead in double stabbing on MBTA busBy Colneth Smiley Jr., Jessica Fargen and Marie Szaniszlo  |   Tuesday, November 2, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage Police investigate a double stabbing on an MBTA bus in front of the Trotter Elementary School in Dorchester at 135 Humboldt Ave. this morning.Photo by Mark Garfinkel A man was stabbed to death and another injured following a fight this morning on an MBTA bus in Roxbury that prompted the lockdown of a nearby elementary school, according to Boston and MBTA police. The man, who is in his 20s, was killed in the double stabbing at about 9 a.m. on a Route 44 bus traveling on Humboldt Avenue, said Joseph O’Connor, deputy chief at the MBTA transit police department. Another man, also in his 20s, suffered minor injures, police said. Both victims are known to police, he said. Boston Police Superintendent William Evans said police are searching for four suspects who were seen fleeing the bus. Police said they will review surveillance camera footage from the area. The incident occurred near the William Trotter Elementary School at 135 Humboldt Ave. The school was in lockdown for at least an hour, said Boston Public Schools spokesman Matt Wilder. The driver of a Route 44 MBTA bus reported the fight, said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo. The bus was parked in front of the school this morning as investigators gathered evidence. A red gym bag and a piece of bloodied cloth could be seen in the street near the bus. A portion of Humboldt Avenue was blocked off and police officers were stationed in front of the school. Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1293309

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Chuck Turner fights to keep council seat

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Chuck Turner fights to keep council seatBy Richard Weir  |   Tuesday, November 2, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Politics Photo by Ted Fitzgerald (file) As convicted felon Chuck Turner fights to keep his City Council office, he could end up serving as “kingmaker” to the next council president and even an acting council president himself — next in line to the mayor — with the honor of gaveling in the 2011 term. Turner, who faces up to 35 years in prison after being convicted Friday of extortion and perjury charges, is battling to keep his City Council job in hopes that federal judge Douglas Woodlock slaps him with only probation at his Jan. 25 sentencing. “Many with experience in the judicial system say that is unlikely given the circumstances of the case that I will receive any jail time,” Turner said in an e-mail sent to his fellow councilors Sunday. “I was asked by Council President (Michael) Ross on Friday if I intended to resign. I said No. I was elected by my constituents despite my inditement (sic),” the Harvard grad-turned community activist wrote. “I realize that my decision not to resign and to fight to complete my term creates a difficult situation for you. However, I believe that my constituents have a right to have me complete the term to which I was elected.” That means, if the council declines to oust him, that he will be in play when time comes to vote for a new council president. “It’s a highly charged environment where it’s difficult to secure a majority. Every vote matters,” said a City Hall insider, noting that an ambitious councilor, angling to become the council’s next president, could court Turner’s vote in exchange for helping him survive a Dec. 1 council vote to strip him of his post. “Seven is the magic number of votes and Chuck could be that seventh vote for a council president. He could be kingmaker,” the source said, adding that if Turner does survive the vote he would, as the body’s oldest member, be given the honor of serving as temporary president for two weeks when Ross completes his term in mid- December and the council resumes business on Jan. 3. Ross said yesterday he postponed the hearing on Turner’s fate until Dec. 1 to give councilors a month to review the “legal ramifications” of ousting an elected official. “The council has never been down this road in (its) history . . . The potential vote to possibly remove a sitting city councilor is of such gravity it should require all 13 members being present to take that vote,” said Ross, who called it “premature” to say how he will vote. But he added: “This issue is about the integrity of the City Council and our service to the city of Boston. It’s not about difficult votes. It’s about doing what’s right on behalf of the citizens.” Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1293211

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Chelsea teen dies after stabbing to heart

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Chelsea teen dies after stabbing to heartBy Laurel J. Sweet  |   Monday, November 1, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage CHELSEA DEATH: Family and friends gather yesterday outside the Grove Street home where 16-year-old Cesar Umana was found stabbed to death.Photo by Jim Michaud A 16-year-old boy who friends and family said recently moved back to Chelsea from Miami to be with his mother was found fatally stabbed through the heart on her Grove Street front porch yesterday morning. “He had no chance, unfortunately,” said Chelsea police Capt. Keith E. Houghton, who identified the teen as Cesar Umana. Police responding shortly before 1:30 a.m. to a 911 call made from a cell phone regarding a commotion by youth around a car found Umana unconscious in a blood-stained pink Victorian chair, being comforted by a concerned neighbor. “That’s where they found him,” Houghton said. “Our investigators are trying to find out if it happened there or he was trying to find his way home. We’re still piecing it together. What our detectives are doing now are tracking his last 24 hours.” Houghton said Umana was taken by ambulance to Whidden Hospital in Everett but died shortly afterward. He said that at some point, Umana attended Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational School in Wakefield, but it was unclear yesterday if he was still a student there. Cathy Bryant, a dean of students at the school, said Umana’s name was not immediately familiar to her. The murder weapon has not been recovered, Houghton said. Friends and loved ones held each other and wept as they stared blankly at the blood spatter on the cement stairs in front of the beige triple-decker at 60 Grove St. near Chelsea City Hall. Umana’s cousin Ana Hernandez said he was born in El Salvador and had one brother. She said he left Miami to be with his mother, who she said “is doing all right. She’s sad.” A friend, Saul Hernandez, said Umana moved to Miami “because there’s too many problems here. You can see it in the faces. Everybody can’t believe it.” Police ask that anyone with information regarding Umana’s murder call Chelsea detectives at 617-466-4826. Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1292969

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Cops hunt Roxbury shooter

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Cops hunt Roxbury shooterBy Herald staff  |   Monday, November 1, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage Boston police were investigating the fatal shooting on Catawba Street in Roxbury yesterday morning of a man they said appeared to be in his 20s. The victim was found shot multiple times outdoors at 9:40 a.m. and was taken to Boston Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Investigators were looking for another male dressed entirely in black and wearing a skull cap they said was seen leaving the area on foot. Anyone with information about the murder or the victim’s identity is urged to call detectives at 617-343-4470. Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1293020

News, Youth

Statement from SGA at RCC re:Police Brutality incident on campus

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United We Stand Against Police Brutality        As a representative of the Student Government Association at Roxbury Community College, I personally denounce the brutality and the absolute act of barbarism displayed by the cops that arrested a 16-year old boy on RCC campus on Friday Nov. 22, 2010. I am not commenting on the reason for the arrest, but rather on the approach. The excessive force, punching, and kneeing used on this young boy, even after he had been subdued were crude, unfair, and unnecessary. It is disheartening to know that many police officers, among whom are those that were involved in this arrest, still fail to understand that in their quest to preserving public safety and peaceful community coexistence, the society expect them to act more diplomatically. I adore the courage of my fellow student that took the video footage of this ugly incident. Without her effort, these abusers in uniforms and the Boston Police Department, as usual, would have furnished the public with their diluted and unfairly tailored version of the incident.          Also clearly important is the need to stress that the entire student community of Roxbury Community College feel disrespected by this incident for the very fact that this untamed police brutality took place on our campus. These cops came in, unleashed their viciousness, and walked out. The fact that this institution is a predominantly black community should not make the Boston Police Department or any society member, no matter how highly or lowly placed, to think that we do not deserve to be accounted for. If this had happened on the private property of a  predominantly white community institution, I am absolutely positive that Michael T. McManus and the rest of his untamed team would have been cautious of how they unleashed the brutality that have overshadowed their mental faculty.        As the voice of the entire student of Roxbury Community College, I assert that we deserve the right to feel secure on our campus. Even though the young boy in question is not a student of RCC, the fact that this ferocious attack took place on our campus gives us no choice than to proudly stand with our fellow student that took the video footage of the occurrence to condemn the continuous perpetuation of police brutality in the society. Our support for her is unquestionably essential because if we decide to keep quiet because the boy in question is not a fellow student. We might not have the courage to stand up for our fellow colleague in the future if this was to happen to them. We might not have the courage to discourage police brutality in the society, especially black dominated communities. This, we believe is what it means to make a difference, and this we all proudly stand up for.    Tajudeen J Akinbode.   On behalf of the Student Government Association of RCC and the entire student community it governs.                                                                                                                                    tjakinbode@roxbury.edu                     

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Open Message to Boston Mayor Tom Menino

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Open Message to Boston Mayor Tom MeninoMessage to Mayor Tom Menino fromCommunity Activist, Blackstonian Publisher/EditorJamarhl Crawford10/28/10 Open Message to Boston Mayor Tom Menino from Jamarhl Crawford on Vimeo.

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Mass. man to be sentenced in black church arson

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Mass. man to be sentenced in black church arsonBy Associated Press  |   Sunday, October 31, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage SPRINGFIELD — One of three white men convicted of setting a fire that burned down a predominantly black church in Springfield hours after Barack Obama was elected president faces sentencing in federal court. Benjamin Haskell pleaded guilty to civil rights charges in June in a plea deal that calls for him to spend nine years in prison. The 23-year-old Haskell is scheduled to be sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Springfield. The fire destroyed the Macedonia Church of God in Christ in Springfield in the early morning hours of Nov. 5, 2008, the day after Obama was elected America’s first black president. The church was under construction at the time. It had about 300 members, most of whom were black. Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1292814

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Pace player honored amid quest for ‘truth’Mourners remember ‘family first’ mentalityBy Marie Szaniszlo  |   Saturday, October 30, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage HOPE ABOVE: Danroy Henry Sr. and Angela Henry mourn the loss of their son Danroy Henry Jr. during a service to honor him at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.Photo by Christopher Evans Two weeks after he was shot to death by police outside a Mount Pleasant, N.Y., bar, more than 2,000 people crowded into the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center yesterday to remember the birthday Danroy Henry Jr. never lived to see. The Pace University football player would have turned 21 yesterday. And so his family, friends and teammates celebrated his life, even as they wrestled with questions about his death. “We have been overwhelmed by love and support as we continue to search for the truth,” his mother, Angela Henry, said as she looked out across the sea of faces in front of her. “As his mother, I wanted to do everything I could for him. . . . I just pray you do the same for your kids.” Henry was shot at about 1 a.m. Oct. 17 after he allegedly struck a police officer with the car he and 20-year-old Brandon Cox were in. Two officers opened fire, killing Henry and grazing his childhood friend. Police have said Henry took off, hitting the officer, while witnesses have said the officer jumped in front of the vehicle. While New York State Police and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office investigate, Henry’s family and witnesses have called for federal oversight of the probe since blood-alcohol test results were leaked, showing he had a level of 0.13, above the legal limit. Michael Sussman, the attorney representing the Easton family, this week said he expects the Westchester County Medical Examiner’s Office to turn over a blood sample to a lab for independent toxicology analysis. No drugs or alcohol were found in the car, Sussman said. Yesterday, Danroy Henry Sr. jokingly remembered his son as an excruciatingly slow eater who would order two entrees when they went out to dinner and, if he particularly liked his meal, “quietly hum” his approval. His younger brother remembered his impeccable sense of style and $400 Gucci shoes. His younger sister remembered him as her “hero.” When his father learned he had gotten a tattoo, the elder Henry “was ready to go off on him,” Bishop G.A. Thompson of Jubilee Christian Church recalled, “but when he saw the words, ‘Family First,’ he said, ‘How can I get mad at that?’ ” On the football field, Henry came to compete because he loved what he was doing, his Pace University coach, Chris Dapolito, said, adding “His play inspired others.” Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1292513

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