http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/04/09/threats_of_revenge_put_police_on_guard/

By Maria Cramer
Globe Staff / April 9, 2010
Labels: Boston Police Killings , BPD , Police , Police Brutality

Time: April 11, 2010 from 12:30pm to 2pm
Location: "St. Peter's Teen Center"
Organized By: Community

Event Description:
Sunday at 12:30, there will be a community meeting with the Police at Saint Peter's Teen Center on the issue of the death of Manuel "Junior" Da Veiga. The location is on Bowdoin Street, Dorchester, MA

See more details and RSVP on Blackstonian:
http://blackstonian.ning.com/events/event/show?id=2761975%3AEvent%3A7123&xgi=1mXOkLqBar6iMI&xg_source=msg_invite_event
Labels: Boston Police Killings , Community , Events , Meeting , Police , Police Brutality

Cornered and seriously wounded by a barrage of police bullets, 19-year-old Manuel “Junior” DaVeiga pressed his .45-caliber handgun to his head Saturday, taking his own life on the same dead-end Dorchester block where moments earlier he had been mourning a murdered friend, authorities said.

Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley declared yesterday DaVeiga killed himself - and was not slain by cops - based on the preliminary findings of an autopsy of the Quincy man and a review of witness statements.

A team of three Boston officers and a state trooper assigned to a youth violence strike force had sought to question DaVeiga and several other youths gathered Saturday night at a sidewalk shrine on Navillus Terrace grieving the loss of 17-year-old Andrew Tavares, himself shot to death in Roxbury on March 28.

According to Conley, DaVeiga pulled out an unregistered .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun as the officers approached.

“Mulitple rounds of gunfire were exchanged between DaVeiga and the officers,” Conley said, noting that DaVeiga was left wounded - but still standing - by shots to his chest, hand and hip.

“Preliminary evidence developed to this point indicates that after the exchange of gunfire, DaVeiga reloaded his weapon, put the gun to his head, and shot himself. Police recovered the .45-caliber firearm from DaVeiga where he fell,” Conley added.

As he visited the block where one cousin died Saturday and another was being mourned, Michael Lopes, 18, of Dorchester struggled to fathom that DaVeiga would kill himself.

“His life wasn’t the best life, but I don’t think he would take his own life. He was a good person, always laughing and joyful,” he said, adding that he doesn’t hold any grudges against the officers. “It’s just another life gone. I just lost one cousin and now I lose another cousin to gun violence.”

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20100406da_teen_in_gunfight_killed_self/

By Richard Weir
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Labels: Boston Police Killings , Police , Police Brutality

The 19-year-old who was shot and killed in an exchange of gunfire with police in Dorchester Saturday night put his own gun to his head and fired, the Suffolk district attorney said yesterday, a determination police officials hope will settle anxiety among the area’s Cape Verdean community over the use of deadly force.

District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said yesterday that a preliminary investigation shows that Manuel “Junior’’ DaVeiga had exchanged gunfire with officers and a state trooper assigned to the Youth Violence Strike Force and that at one point he “reloaded his weapon, put the gun to his head, and shot himself.’’

Conley said police recovered DaVeiga’s .45-caliber firearm where he fell. The Cape Verdean teenager also suffered gunshot wounds to his hand, hip, and chest.

Conley said that an investigation into the shooting will continue and that officials will determine whether protocol was followed. State Police will conduct their own investigation because a trooper was involved.

“The investigation into DaVeiga’s death began Saturday night, continues today, and will proceed through the days and weeks to come,’’ Conley said.

The medical examiner has not yet ruled on a cause of death, according to Jake Wark, a spokesman for Conley.

The district attorney made his preliminary determination just as Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis met with members of the Cape Verdean community at police headquarters in Roxbury yesterday to explain what investigators determined in hopes of quelling unease and to call for a renewed partnership against the street violence that has rattled the community and led to Saturday’s shooting.

“The concerns are wider than the shooting; the concerns are about gang activity,’’ the commissioner said. “The Cape Verdean community is very aware, very cognizant of what’s happening. There are a lot of good people in the community who want to help us in stopping this.’’

The shooting occurred just after 9:30 Saturday. Police said members of the department’s Youth Violence Strike Force, along with the state trooper, went to the Navillus Street neighborhood in Dorchester to question residents as part of an investigation into a recent spike in violence.

The Globe has reported that police suspected DaVeiga had a role in much of that violence. At the time of the shooting, he had been visiting a makeshift memorial for a friend who was shot to death last month in Roxbury.

But when he saw police officials, he allegedly fled. He then turned and fired at the officers, who shot back, police said.

Davis said yesterday’s meeting with community members was organized by Deputy Superintendent William Gross, who supervises the district, and Deputy Superintendent Gary French, who oversees the strike force, to reach out to a community anxious over the use of force.

The meeting also included members of the Boston Public Health Commission, as part of the city’s Violence Intervention and Prevention initiative. A representative from St. Peter’s Church on Bowdoin Street was also involved.

Davis said the discussion was to focus on the root cause of violence that brought officers to the neighborhood in the first place. He said that only a fraction of the greater community is responsible for the violence plaguing city streets, and so those at the meeting discussed ways to reach out to families and to youth with jobs and summer programs.

Paulo DeBarros, president of Cape Verdean Community UNIDO, a community group, attended yesterday’s meeting and is working to organize another involving representatives from different social service providers, to develop an action plan to reach out to people in the neighborhood.

John Barros, head of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative and a member of the Cape Verdean community, said yesterday’s meeting was initially to call for transparency in the investigation into Saturday’s shooting. But the next step will be to determine how to avoid such situations in the future, he said.

“We outlined a number of steps on how to continue to work together to make sure the relationship between the community is not severed or worsened,’’ he said.

He said that the Cape Verdean community had developed a partnership with police over the past several years and that community leaders and police will need to reach out to the larger community to build confidence again.

“It’s a lose-lose for everyone, the police, the community, everyone, to have what happened Saturday,’’ he said. “So we want to make sure it never happens again.’’

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/04/06/teen_in_police_clash_shot_self_da_says/

By Milton J. Valencia
Globe Staff / April 6, 2010
Labels: Boston Police Killings , Police , Police Brutality

Clashed with officers 3 days before, police say


Three days before his deadly encounter with police, Manny “Junior’’ DaVeiga had a violent run-in with officers in the same neighborhood, at the same intersection where he would die in the midst of a chaotic gunfight, according to a police report.

Last Wednesday afternoon, DaVeiga, 19, was standing with a group of other youths at a makeshift street memorial for a friend who had recently been killed, the report says. When the police approached them, DaVeiga allegedly taunted the three officers, screaming obscenities and raising his middle finger. They frisked him, found a folding knife in his pocket, and tried to handcuff him as he pushed them to get away, the report says. As he struggled, he allegedly broke off the mirror from a cruiser, while the crowd around the officers and DaVeiga grew, with up to 40 people yelling at police and one man shoving an officer.

Tensions erupted again between police and the crowd after DaVeiga’s death Saturday night in an exchange of gunfire with officers; the Suffolk district attorney says DaVeiga killed himself during that gunfight. Since then, police have been ordered to ride in tandem in cruisers, not alone, because police were threatened after the shootout.

The report sheds light on the tumultuous history between Boston police and DaVeiga, who had been associated with a Cape Verdean gang and had a history of mental illness, according to court records.

Yesterday, community and religious leaders said many people have questions about what happened the night DaVeiga died, and are anxious for the results of a full investigation.

Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley has said that DaVeiga began shooting at four officers, one of them a state trooper, after they tried to speak with him Saturday night in the area of Winter Street and Navillus Terrace, near the makeshift memorial to Andrew Tavares, a Dorchester 17-year-old and friend of DaVeiga’s, who had been killed on Maywood Street.

When police saw DaVeiga near the memorial, he allegedly turned to shoot at them. The four officers fired back, prosecutors said. DaVeiga sustained gunshots to his hip, hand, chest, and head. Prosecutors said the head wound was self-inflicted.

But Lynn Currier, executive director of Haitkaah Social Justice Project, which does youth advocacy work around the city, said the idea that the young man would have committed suicide in the midst of gunfire is “illogical.’’

“I’ve never in my life heard of a youth running with three shots in their body, stopping . . . reloading, and shooting [himself],’’ she said.

Jorge Martinez, executive director of Project RIGHT, said he believes the actions by police were justified, but that many in the community, particularly Cape Verdeans, believe police used unnecessary force.

“Fifty percent of the people were glad that the shooter went down and the other 50 percent think it was police abuse,’’ he said. “The Boston police are in a lot of trouble. They’re going to have to make amends to the Cape Verdean community, whether they were right or wrong.’’

Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said homicide detectives are working “day in and day out’’ with Suffolk prosecutors, who will determine whether any criminal charges are warranted against the four officers.

“What we’re attempting to do is get as much information as possible as quickly as possible,’’ he said.

Thomas Drechsler, a lawyer who is representing the city officers, said the actions of the men that night were justified. The officers have not been identified, but none of the city officers have any disciplinary records, he said.

“The young man put the officers in a position where they had no choice but to fire at him,’’ Drechsler said. “The officers acted in a very courageous manner.’’

According to court records, DaVeiga had a long history of mental illness. Last May, several months after he was arrested for assault and battery on a police officer, he was admitted to Bridgewater State Hospital for evaluation. DaVeiga was often depressed, self-medicated with marijuana and alcohol, and said he had hallucinations — he complained of seeing hockey pucks fly at him, according to a June 2009 report written by a hospital psychologist. At 13, he said, he stabbed his brother because voices in his head told him to, the 33-page report stated.

He underwent psychiatric evaluations several times as a teenager and was diagnosed with several conditions, including bipolar disorder and posttraumatic stress syndrome.

But the psychologist concluded that as long as DaVeiga kept taking his medications, he was not dangerous and did not need to be committed to a psychiatric hospital. After his encounter with police last Wednesday, he was released on $300 bail, according to court records. Three days later, he was dead.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/04/07/teen_had_run_in_prior_to_fatal_shot/

By Maria Cramer
Globe Staff / April 7, 2010
Labels: Boston Police Killings , Police , Police Brutality

Probe focuses on death of teen after shootout with cops


Police are scrambling to quell rising gang tensions following the death of a 19-year-old who authorities say ran from gang unit cops and then opened fire on them in Dorchester Saturday night before being fatally wounded.

“Patrols have been stepped up in the area for the last couple of weeks,” said Boston police spokesman Eddy Chrispin. “Obviously, it’s a tense situation and we have to take every precaution.”

Officials said an unusual calm start to the year gave way to a burst of gang violence in the last few weeks, culminating in the shootout at Navillus Terrace, near Bowdoin and Winter streets.


Three police officials told the Herald that cops are investigating whether the teen, wounded by police, then turned the gun on himself, delivering the fatal blow.

Police were conducting routine interviews with youths when they came upon the 19-year-old Saturday night, who tried to slip away from a larger group but was pursued by cops, sources said. The teen is a suspect in a recent shooting, but that was not why he was stopped, sources said.

As the chase unfolded, the teen turned around and began to unload a clip, aiming at four cops, including a state trooper, sources said. Sources said officers at the scene told investigators the suspect was wounded and then turned his .45-caliber handgun on himself.

Yesterday, a plastic gun and liquor bottles comprised a makeshift memorial for the deceased teen at the scene of the shooting.

The Boston Police Firearms Discharge Unit and Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley are investigating the shooting.

“The nature of the fatal injury remains under investigation,” said DA spokesman Jake Wark. “Officers approached him, he fled, officers gave chase and it was in the context of that chase that shots were exchanged.”

Police are also investigating a fatal stabbing in Allston Saturday night, where a man was found stabbed at 7 Mansfield St. He later died after being transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Anyone with information is urged to call 1-800-494-TIPS or text “TIP” to Crime (27463).

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20100405tense_situation_on_streets_probe_focuses_on_death_of_teen_after_shootout_with_cops/srvc=home&position=1

By Jessica Van Sack and O’Ryan Johnson
Monday, April 5, 2010
Labels: Boston Police Killings , Police , Police Brutality

Devastated by the recent death of a close friend, Manuel “Junior’’ DaVeiga went to pay condolences to the family Saturday night and then visited a makeshift memorial to him on Navillus Terrace in Dorchester, friends said.

Moments after he arrived at the memorial, DaVeiga was engaged in a shoot-out with police.

He died of gunshot wounds. It remains unclear whether the shot that killed him came from police or his own gun, according to two law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation.

John Cardosa, who grew up with 19-year-old DaVeiga near the site of the shooting, said he and several other friends were standing by the memorial when they heard two shots ring out and saw numerous police officers rush in their direction.

“Then there were more shots and more shots,’’ said Cardosa. “They didn’t have to shoot him like that, 15 times. He was running away and they just kept shooting at him.’’

Eddy Chrispin, Boston police spokesman, said yesterday, “Based on preliminary investigation, it appears he fired on us, and officers returned fire.’’

DaVeiga was among several men standing on a corner who were approached by police about 9:41, according to police. The teen fled when officers drew near, Chrispin said.

Police were in the area to question people who had been gathering at the memorial, made of candles, flowers, and liquor bottles, erected several days ago for 17-year-old Andrew Tavares, according to the two law enforcement officials.

Tavares, who was shot to death March 28 on Maywood Street in Roxbury, was a childhood friend of DaVeiga.

A police official, who requested anonymity because the case remains under investigation, said officers believed DaVeiga was involved in some of the gun-related violence that has been plaguing the area the past couple of weeks and wanted to talk to him.

The two law enforcement officials said officers believed DaVeiga was a gang member and carried a gun. When the officers approached DaVeiga, he fled, then turned around and began firing at them, the sources said. The officers returned fire, they said.

An autopsy will be conducted today, they said.

At the scene of the shooting Saturday night, Police Superintendent Daniel Linskey said police were investigating whether DaVeiga might have been shot with his own weapon.

One of the two sources said DaVeiga was shot in the head and stomach.

DaVeiga’s sister, Carla, said yesterday at the family home in Quincy that her brother wasn’t a troublemaker and was trying to make his life better. He was working toward obtaining his GED and had aspirations of going to college, she said.

“My brother would never kill himself,’’ she said. “He didn’t have the greatest life but he wouldn’t kill himself. He wouldn’t take the easy way out. The cops are the ones who are cowards. They shot him 15 times.’’

Their mother left Cape Verde about 20 years ago, she said. Carla DaVeiga was born in Cape Verde, but Manuel and another brother were born in the United States.

About two years ago, their mother moved the family from their home on Bowdoin Street in Dorchester to raise her children in Quincy because she felt safer there.

Yesterday, Carla said her mother was upstairs crying and declined to speak with a reporter.

DaVeiga fell near 10 Navillus Terrace. Yesterday, at the opposite end of the street where the memorial to Tavares had been erected, two candles marked the spot where DaVeiga died.

Isaura Mendes, a Cape Verdean peace activist, visited the scene yesterday and spoke with friends of DaVeiga’s.

“They’re in pain,’’ she said. “All the violence that they see, and they keep it all inside because they have nobody to talk with and they feel hopeless.’’

Mendes said she saw DaVeiga on Wednesday at the cemetery where Tavares was buried. A day later, she saw him at St. Peter’s Church on Bowdoin Street at a meeting she helped organize to counsel the area’s Cape Verdean youth.

“He was really sad; he felt so much pain because of his friend’s death,’’ Mendes said.

With the death of DaVeiga and the fatal stabbing of an unidentified man in Allston Saturday night, the number of homicides in Boston stood at 16 yesterday compared with 12 at the same time last year, according to Chrispin.

A spokesman for the Suffolk district attorney’s office, which is investigating the shooting, said the officers spoke with the teenager briefly before he fled and opened fire.

Jake Wark said three or four officers, including a state trooper assigned to the Boston police gang unit, were involved.

State Police, who have a specialized team to investigate police-related shootings, will also be assisting in the investigation, said David Procopio, spokesman for the State Police. He said the number of officers who fired shots and their identities would be part of the investigation.

“The preliminary investigation suggests that the suspect opened fire and that the police officers returned fire and that there were multiple shots fired from both sides,’’ Procopio said.

A firearm was recovered at the scene, police said yesterday.

The officers involved were taken to the hospital for treatment for stress and placed on administrative leave, according to procedure in a police-related shooting, Chrispin said.

Police officers were ordered to patrol in tandem yesterday because of apparent death threats directed at police after the shooting, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation.

At the family home yesterday, Carla DaVeiga said her brother was about to become a father; his girlfriend is expecting a baby. Manuel DaVeiga was a handyman around the house, always fixing things, she said.

“The last time I spoke with him, I believe last Wednesday, I told him to be careful out there, and he said he was and that he loves me.’’

Noah Bierman of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/04/05/man_19_killed_in_shoot_out_with_police/

By Brian R. Ballou and Maria Cramer
Globe Staff / April 5, 2010
Labels: Boston Police Killings , Police , Police Brutality

A man was shot by police last night after first allegedly firing at the officers in Dorchester, police and sources said.

Police said the shooting happened at 9:46 p.m. on Navillus Terrace, which is near the intersection of Bowdoin and Winter streets. A police source said the man who was shot by police was killed at the scene.

The shooting happened after a state trooper and a plainclothes Boston Police Department unit began chasing a man through the neighborhood. Police would not say last night why the man was being pursued.

The source said during the chase, the man turned and fired multiple rounds at officers, then paused to reload his weapon.“He was fumbling with the clip and it was lights out,” the source said.

It was unclear last night how many officers returned fire. A police source said none of the police officers involved was harmed, but one or more were hospitalized for stress.

The shooting is under investigation by the Boston Police Department Firearms Discharge Unit and the Suffolk District Attorney’s office, which handles all police involved shootings.

At the scene, police pushed back a hostile crowd that swore at officers manning the perimeter.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1244564&srvc=rss

By O’Ryan Johnson and Stuart Cahill
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Labels: Boston Police Killings , Police , Police Brutality

BOSTON -- Boston police said officers shot and killed an armed suspect Saturday night in Dorchester.

Police called the incident “an officer-involved shooting.”

The incident occurred in the area of Navillus Terrace in Dorchester.

Sources tell 7News that the officers involved were members of the Youth Violence Strike Force. Police said they were investigating the suspect. The suspect attempted to flee and officers pursued. According to police, the suspect then pulled a gun. Police said the officers "returned fire."

There were four police officers involved. They were not physically injured, but they were taken to a hospital for stress-related injuries, according to police.

Police did confirm that an officer discharged his weapon, and that the suspect was killed. The suspect's name was not released.

Police shut down streets to collect evidence while investigating the incident.

Keep it tuned to 7News for more details.

http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO139205/

(Copyright (c) 2010 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Labels: Boston Police Killings , Police , Police Brutality

A teenager was shot to death in Dorchester last night after exchanging gunfire with police who were investigating gang activity.

Members of the Youth Violence Strike Force were near 11 Navillus Terrace investigating a recent spate of gun violence in the area, said Boston Police Superintendent Daniel Linskey. Several people have been shot and injured or killed on Dorchester streets in the past week.

Officers approached a man at about 9:30 p.m., and he drew a firearm and began shooting at officers, Linskey said. “The officers returned fire,” Linskey said at a press briefing last night.

The suspect’s name was not released. Linskey said he was 18 or 19 years old and was “involved with individuals involved with gang violence.”

The suspect died at the scene, Linskey said, but his body was still there late last night. Police are investigating whether the man was shot by police or by own weapon, Linskey said. He would not say how many officers fired or how many shots were fired.

Several bystanders near the press conference wailed “my son” and “my brother.”

Eddy Chrispin, a Boston Police spokesman, said no officers were struck.

The Suffolk District Attorney’s office is investigating.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/04/04/armed_teen_shot_to_death/

By John M. Guilfoil
Globe Staff / April 4, 2010
Labels: Boston Police Killings , Police , Police Brutality