Police shoot more often in Mass., cite rise in threats
A five-year trend, even as overall crime is down
By Maria CramerGLOBE STAFF JANUARY 05, 2014
At least 23 people were shot by police in Massachusetts in 2013 — 11 of them fatally, according to figures provided by Boston and State Police, troubling authorities who say the numbers reflect the growing threats police face, and startling civil libertarians who worry about the prevalence of deadly force.
From 2008 through 2013, the number of people shot by officers and state troopers has grown every year. Over that time period, there have been 86 shootings, 67 of which were determined to be justified. Two were classified as accidental, and two led to recommendations that the officers be retrained. The rest remain under investigation. Last year, Boston officials investigated six officer-involved shootings, compared with 1 in 2012. State Police investigated 17 in 2013 compared with 14 in 2012.
Police cite two major causes for the uptick in violent confrontations: perpetrators, often mentally ill, who are quick to attack police, and the growing availability of illegal guns.
“Guns are everywhere,” said State Police Colonel Timothy Alben. “When I started in this department in 1983, if you stopped a car and you seized a firearm, that was a rare occurrence. Today, this is a routine occurrence.”
Every year, he said, State Police seize hundreds of illegal guns — they confiscated 477 illegal firearms from Jan. 1, 2013, to Oct. 31, 2013, the most recent numbers available. Boston police seized 663 firearms in 2013, 125 more than the year before.
Graphic: Recent police shootings
“There is nothing worse for an officer than having to hurt someone or kill someone,” said William Evans, the acting commissioner of the Boston Police Department. “But when we’re threatened, we have no other choice.”
Still, civil libertarians say an upward trend in shootings by police is alarming at a time when overall crime is down across the state.
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http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/01/05/crime-falls-shootings-police-rise/Z6X3lniPeNCLkVc7KaTWNK/story.html