BOSTON, MA –Police in Boston, Massachusetts were surveilling a vehicle they believed had illegal weapons inside. Once the vehicle went into motion, police attempted to affect a traffic stop.
Instead of stopping, the driver allegedly sped up, striking and injuring four officers before fleeing the area.
Credit Boston Police
Police advised that on September 12th, officers noticed a blue Honda Odyssey that they advised was wanted for some reason. Although police did not advise what the vehicle was wanted for, they did state that officers set up surveillance on the vehicle which was parked on 16 Glenway Street.
As officers were watching, they called for additional units as they had a suspicion that whoever was associated with the vehicle would be armed with illegal firearms. As officers were getting into position, the vehicle began to drive and officers conducting a traffic stop on the vehicle at Columbia Road and Geneva Avenue.
#OneLessGun: Traffic Stop, Lengthy Pursuit, and Multiple Injured Officers, Results in the Arrest of Wanted Criminal and the Recovery of Six Firearms in Roxbury. https://t.co/qUmVCKYkFx pic.twitter.com/OLVlxbYmdr
— Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) September 13, 2020
As officers approached the vehicle, the driver, later identified as Michael McKoy, saw the approaching officers and gunned it, and in the process struck several officers, almost pinning them into other vehicles parked along the street.
Four officers were injured and one police vehicle was damaged in this incident.
McKoy then allegedly fled the scene and was reportedly driving recklessly in the area trying to avoid being stopped. Police report that McKoy allegedly ran several stop signs and was driving the wrong way on one-way streets. While doing this, officers saw McKoy allegedly throw an item out of the car window along with other items during the pursuit.
Due to McKoy’s alleged reckless driving, officers called off the pursuit as they were concerned that he was causing too much of a danger to the public during the chase. Officers issued a BOLO (be on the lookout) for the vehicle from the last known location.
Shortly after, officers in the area located the vehicle crashed into a light pole at Norfolk Avenue an Hampden Street. As officers approached, they saw McKoy allegedly exit out of the passenger side of the wrecked vehicle and gave him commands to go to the ground. McKoy ignored those orders and fled on foot down Hampden Street.
Boston police said:
“The suspect ignored officers’ commands and fled on foot down Hampden Street towards Melnea Cass Boulevard. Following a lengthy foot pursuit, officers eventually apprehended the suspect at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard.”
With McKoy secured, officers who were at the scene of the crash began to inventory the vehicle prior to it being towed from the scene. Inventory searches are standard policy in order to ensure that whatever is in the vehicle is accounted for and noted prior to any tow.
Boston police were in the process of pulling over 35-year-old Michael McKoy, who they believed was in possession of an illegal gun. McKoy fled the scene, according to police, striking four officers with his car in an effort to flee down Columbia Road. https://t.co/M09kMBUez3
— NBC10 Boston (@NBC10Boston) September 13, 2020
During the inventory search, police said:
“[O]fficers recovered the following items: a black and gray bag containing an Intratec Tec-9 firearm with a large capacity feeding device and an extended magazine, a Khar Arms CM .40 caliber firearm loaded with five rounds of live ammunition, a Smith & Wesson Bodyguard .380 firearm loaded with six rounds of live ammunition, a Ruger LC9 loaded with seven rounds of live ammunition, a .380 Diamondback firearm loaded with five rounds of live ammunition, and a .22LR model 888 Sportsman H + R firearm.
“Additionally, officers recovered one hundred and sixteen rounds of live ammunition, twenty-two plastic bags containing crack cocaine, one large plastic bag containing approximately 70.4 grams of heroin/fentanyl, a large hunting knife and a $25,000 in US Currency.”
McKoy was charged with six counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm subsequent offense, four counts of carrying a loaded firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition subsequent offense, two counts of unlawful possession of large capacity feeding device, four counts of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident personal injury, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident property damage, refusal to submit for a police officer, refusal to stop for a police officer, trafficking class A drugs, and possession with intent to distribute class B drugs subsequent offense.
Three out of the four officers who were injured in the initial attempted stop were transported to a local hospital and treated for what is described as non-life-threatening injuries.
Here is more on the rise in crime in Boston that Law Enforcement Today brought you.
BOSTON, MA – A man in his mid-20s was shot dead at 9 am yesterday in the Mattapan neighborhood in Boston. According to CBSN Boston, the unidentified victim was found dead in a driveway at a tire shop, and Boston Police are searching for his killer.
Man Killed In Mattapan Daytime Shooting; Boston Police Commissioner ‘Very Disheartened’ By Uptick In Violence https://t.co/z9WhMELgMd
— WBZ | CBS Boston News (@wbz) August 6, 2020
Boston Police Commissioner William Gross placed the blame for a “recent uptick in crime” squarely on early prisoner release in response to COVID.
He said,
“When you release and keep releasing dangerous persons to the neighborhood. . . it just bolsters the confidence of repeat violent offenders.”
Gross also told Boston 25 News,
“I’m not making stuff up folks. I’m a 37-year veteran. I can tell you what the mentality on the street is and so can several people in the neighborhood.
He added,
“They can tell you right now that the mentality is that ‘we can do what we want.’”
Mattapan resident Royce White, who lives next door to the crime scene and heard the shots fired, appears to agree with Gross’ assessment of local criminal mentality and activity. She said,
“I would like to say that I was shocked but I really wasn’t.
“A little dismayed is the word.”
White added her frustration with repeat offenders to those of the Commissioner, saying,
“These guys who clearly just live to commit crimes are being let free to do the same thing over and over again because there are no consequences.”
Local resident Peter Papadogiannis, who owns the property across from the tire shop, also voiced his frustration with increasing crime. He said,
“It has to stop. Its crazy.”
He went on to say,
“Things should be getting better instead of worse but to me it looks like it’s getting worse.”
Regarding the early releases and repeat offenders, Commissioner Gross pointed the finger squarely at controversial DA Rachael Rollins, who earlier this year decided to release offenders from jail early, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Rollins’ office claimed that the DA only called for release of “individuals held in custody who are vulnerable because of their health, age, socio-economic status, or circumstances, but pose no meaningful risk to public safety.”
However, Commissioner Gross insists that it is “dangerous persons” who are being released to offend again and again.
#WatchNow on CBSN Boston – Boston Police Commissioner William Gross speaks about deadly Mattapan shooting https://t.co/fYmkI1y7ki pic.twitter.com/JmBpJaenHb
— WBZ | CBS Boston News (@wbz) August 6, 2020
Being soft on crime appears to be the norm for DA Rollins, who in 2019 stated,
“I don’t believe accountability has to equal incarceration. There are many ways we can hold people accountable without putting them in jail.”
In 2019, Rollins produced a no-prosecute list that indicated certain offenses that were to be dismissed outright or addressed with community service.
Those offenses included:
– trespassing
– shoplifting
– wanton or malicious destruction of property
– threats
– drug possession and drug possession with intent to distribute
– resisting arrest
– receiving stolen property
– disorderly conduct
Rollins also ordered police to refuse to cooperate with ICE, and to notify her if ICE or DHS was making inquiries about a person’s residence status.
Furthermore, the DA’s policy has personal recognizance as its default “presumptive recommendation.”
Also, with pleas, incarceration is to be considered a “last resort.”
BPD Seeking Help in Identifying Two Suspects in Bicycle Theft in the area of 125 Guest Street in Brighton https://t.co/QBumOSzpip pic.twitter.com/LVVrUVnniQ
— Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) August 4, 2020
Currently available crime data show that Boston has a violent crime rate of 6.55 per 1000 residents, “one of the highest in the nation.” In comparison, Massachusetts as a whole has a violent crime rate of 3.38 per 1000 residents.
Boston also shows 399 crimes per square mile, as opposed to the entire state of Massachusetts, which has 21 crimes per square mile.
Boston homicide statistics certainly bolster the concerns of Commissioner Gross and local citizens regarding an increase in violent crime. In January 2020, there were three homicides. In February, there were seven. In April, there was one. In May, there were seven. In June, there were five.
In July, there were fifteen homicides.
So far in early August, there have already been two.
Commissioner Gross, however, is not letting early releases stop the efforts of Boston Police to hold criminals accountable and the community safe.
Through CBS Boston, he had a message for repeat offenders:
“I don’t care how many times you get let go, we will lock you up again because our neighborhoods deserve to be safe.”
Gross indicated that he felt the public can prove to be part of the solution in the problem of early releases and increasing crime in Boston.
He encouraged the community to get out and vote, saying,
“Remember folks, your vote counts. Your voice counts and your vote counts.”
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