Four-year-old shot in back; police seek two guys on dirtbikes who fired into crowd
By adamg - 6/27/11 - 10:31 pm
AlertNewEngland reports the two are wanted for opening fire at people at a cookout in Harambee Park in Dorchester tonight.
One adult received minor injures. Police are looking for two black teens in bluejeans and white T-shirts.
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On NECN the police just
On NECN the police just described them as "light skinned" and said they were headed in the direction of Blue Hill Avenue
WTF PEOPLE?!
I could be wrong, but I'm going to guess these guys were among the asshats who ride around that area on dirtbikes/minibikes without helmets, riding whichever way they please down the street, through parks, on and off the sidewalks, and frequently ride past cops who do nothing to enforce the laws that mandate that people on motorcycles and low-powered cycles must wear helmets, must have a license (with motorcycle endorsement if over 50cc), and must obey the rules of the road. I drive in this area throughout the day, and just about every day I nearly take out someone flying off of a sidewalk on a dirtbike with no helmet.
Really, it's not rocket surgery. This would be an easy way to take a lot of antisocial people off the road without profiling them, since they're doing obviously illegal things that warrant pulling them over.
The little kid is in my thoughts and prayers, as are all the people who for whatever reason grew up not thinking they need to have regard for others or their community.
Rocket Surgery?
Let's go one simpler - how about 4 year olds being in bed at 9:30 and not wandering the park...
No. Do not blame the victim.
Given my profession, I get that in order to feel safe, you're needing to point out how this is not in any way a family just like you and yours, and that they got shot because they were doing something different than what you do, which distances you and thinks you couldn't get shot while just hanging out minding your own business.
But really, there were no reports that this child wasn't with an adult, so what's the big deal? If the child doesn't go to school yet, or even if the child does go to school and this was just one time that the kid really wanted to hang out with older siblings or whoever, what's the big deal? Maybe they just got back into town and their schedule is thrown off so they thought they might as well enjoy the weather and their neighbors, or maybe they're from a country where people go to bed at midnight and take a siesta in the afternoon, or maybe they were just having a nice evening in the park and the kids weren't tired yet, so what's the harm in hanging out a little later once in a while?
Why?
Because they might get shot in the back at 9:30 PM? That seems like an awful logic train to be on. You might wanna rethink that.
Doncha Know?
9:00 pm is the Zombie and Thug Hour. Children found out after that time will be eaten!
And because My Arbitrary Rules About Your Life are absolute, true, and involate!
shouldn't you be blaming cyclists or something?
That's where I'm accustomed to seeing victim-blaming. Folks will happily stand up and say a cyclist deserved getting killed by a driver without knowing anything about the circumstances, and the crowd nods, thinking the cyclist was at fault...sometimes simply being in the road ("they knew it was dangerous", and yeah, I've heard that one more than a few times.)
It's not acceptable to say a child (or their parents) were at fault for being out in a park late at night and the kid getting shot.
It's also not acceptable to say "that rape victim was dressed like a slut", yet the press will almost gleefully report that a cyclist wasn't wearing a helmet, even when their injuries were not to the head, or it wasn't what killed them, or wouldn't have mattered (like, say, getting run over by an articulated bus.)
We don't report on whether or not young men were wearing bulletproof vests when they were shot, now do we?
Yeah...no.
You're kind of a giant asshat, johnmc. God forbid a kid, during the summer, be outside with his parents on a nice night.
Toolbag.
re: lax cycle enforcement
I'd also like to add I drive over the Tobin on my commute to work, and on more than one occasion, I've seen dirtbikers/motorcyclers speed through the fast lane while covering their tiny license plate with their hand, then proceeding to recklessly zip through the bridge traffic.
ROAD RAGE FACE >:()
Actually ...
Motorcycles ARE allowed to use HOV lanes ... but they aren't supposed to dart and weave through traffic.
Would amend headline...
...to "dirtbags on dirtbikes".
yeah
the cops down there should know exactly who this is. those idiots arent shy and basically wheelie by the station down there all the time. I give it 24 hours or less before they have someone arrested.
Yup, I see these kids riding
Yup, I see these kids riding around Codman Square on dirtbikes all the time and the cops do nothing!
Kids on dirtbikes
The kids on the dirtbikes screaming up and down Blue Hill Ave are, per police, intentionally trying to bait the police into chasing them. Given the brashness of their behavior, I'd say that isn't unlikely.
The difficulty there is, the police either:
1) Can't catch the kids without creating an unsafe situation (a high speed chase with little chance of success for a minor offense), or
2) Can't catch the kids
There isn't too much an officer can do to catch a kid on a dirtbike.
They admitted it?
The BPD has actually come out and admitted that they won't bother trying to chase these kids down? That seems like, um, not such a great policy, since they have apparently taken it to mean that they won't be pursued for other, more serious things. Like shooting at 4-year-olds.
Those same kids like to tear through Franklin Park on some nights, too. My favorite part is when they fly by the stadium at 40 or 50 MPH, and there's a marked cruiser sitting underneath the "No Motor Vehicles Allowed" sign with its engine idling, and the cop behind the wheel doesn't so much as raise an eyebrow. Heckuva job, Lou.
Pursuit Policy
I've heard supervisors call off pursuits for more serious things then riding a dirtbike past a "No Motor Vehicles Allowed" sign, yes. Can't say I'm for it, but that's the trend nationwide. Pursuits are dangerous to the general public.
On the other hand, I'm not sure what you expect the police to do. Tear through Franklin Park at 50 mph after the kid? Does that really seem like a good plan? And when the kid goes even faster to flee the police, and ends up killing himself in the process, people will line up to call the pursuit unnecessary and condemn the police.
You can't pursue motorcycles or dirtbikes.
At all. Very clear in the policy or any Massachusetts police pursuit policy.
You chase a bike and the person on the bike falls over and gets hurt, everyone is liable (city, police, officer). Clear violation of the policy.
Not to mention the fact...
...that you can't catch them - unless they crash first. They are way too maneuverable, can go anywhere (sidewalks, one-way streets, thru parks, etc.), and it would simply be fruitless. You would end up with either a) one dead, or nearly dead rider, or b) nothing.
Not To Put Too Fine A Point On This, But...
Are you (Pete) saying that the only thing allowed regarding a suspected criminal on a motorcycle is to somehow track his/her progress, if possible, and then wait for the vehicle to come to a voluntary stop before making an arrest? That's what I'm reading, but perhaps my comprehension isn't up to snuff today.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
Per Commissioner Davis
"Officers are also focused on ‘nuisance’ issues such as the activity surrounding motorbikes in the community. Officers have developed a strategy to address this issue and enforce concerns relative to driving to endanger, unlicensed/unregistered and its overall contribution to disorder. If you have any information about a nuisance issue related to motorbikes, please contact CrimeStoppers with a tip. The number is 1-800-494-TIPS."
Actually...
After looking at an older policy, you can "pursue" a motorcycle, but there have to be other factors involved. Nature of the offense being the most important one in my opinion (the other ones are: 1.saftey of the officer and public, 2.road conditions, weather and location, 3. time of day, 4. traffic conditions, 5. type of vehicles involved)
So unless a cop has probable cause to belive the cyclist just comitted a dangerous felony and needs to stop them, motorcycles are not going to be chased. So a "suspected criminal" would need to be defined more clearly. For instance, if a cop sees a motorcycle run a stop sign and attempts to pull them over and the motorcycle takes off (going faster than the speed limit) the cop is not going to be allowed to pursue them at a high speed.
It is up the the supervisors to monotior these chases and call them off.
Kay Leigh Harriott
Peter Gelzinis talks to her mother about the shooting.
Amazing...
That little girl is amazing. Not that I necessarily share her sentiment, but reading about her forgiving the man that shot her years ago still makes me tear up.
Ditto
> still makes me tear up.
Amazing little girl, amazing mother.
Modified title for post
Shouldn't that title be, "Dirtbags on Dirtbikes"?
Live and learn: In the early-
Live and learn:
In the early- and mid-1980s, a group led by the Franklin Field Corporation community group demanded that the name Franklin Field be changed. They felt that the name Franklin Field did not reflect their history and values as a community of primarily African Americans. In response, the City changed the name of the park to Harambee Park. Harambee is a Swahili word meaning "pull together." The new name is used by City officials and the Parks Department. It is on City maps. However, it is seldomly used by residents.
That worked out well.
http://ksgaccman.harvard.edu/hotc/DisplayPlace.asp?id=11475
Learn what exactly, Not(sic)Whitey?
What do you feel we should be inferring from that excerpt?
Strain yourself. I know you
Strain yourself. I know you can do it.
I agree.
I have no idea myself.
I think that what Not Whitey
I think that what Not Whitey is saying is that the members of the community who frequent the park didn't exactly "pull together" in the spirit of the re-naming of the park, but instead are shooting at each other from scooters and hitting 4 year olds in the back. That about right?
Thanks. I think.
Of course, being judgmental of others is so damn cool in the wake of this crime. And Not Whitey is making assumptions which he/she has no way of knowing are true - that those who use the park know the meaning behind the name (and as if that, in itself, has anything to do with anything.) In fact, those that shot might not even utilize the park at all - but I digress.
This isn't difficult. But
This isn't difficult. But then there's nothing stopping you from being perversely obtuse.
Who Cares What Time it Was, What about the Law
People are worrying about the time this kid was out that is not the issue. The issue is prevention and making laws that say if you shot in a area where kids maybe period, it is a mandatory sentence. If it is a mandatory sentence for selling drugs in a school zone what about a mandatory sentence for shooting a innocent child. How about the little girl in Dorchester, Mass. just on her porch she was home now she is paralized for life. Many are take too soon.
We have all these alerts for white children but what about the all children include the black ones who's lifes are destroyed due to the neglect of a shooter and a abuser. We have the Amber alert for a missing child, there should also be a shooting law in effect right now once the little girl got shot and before her case it should have happen with the first child every shot in innocents.
We as people need to tie the knot to save all our children, since our govenment is not acting, oh it not inportant because it not their child. We need to make a stand.