The mayor of Boynton Beach, Florida has come under fire after blaming police for the death of 13-year-old Stanley Davis Jr.
Stanley died when police tried to pull him over after observing him riding recklessly on a dirt bike.
Surveillance video at a Chevron gas station shows Davis Jr. filling up his bike with gas as a patrol car turns into the station.
The patrol car followed Davis Jr. out of the station and attempted a traffic stop. The patrol unit is not equipped with a camera and the officer was not required to wear a body cam.
According to police, the boy was killed when his dirt bike crashed on North Federal Highway during the attempted traffic stop.
In a statement on Sunday, the Boynton Beach Police Department said the “preliminary investigation indicates that the dirt bike operator was observed driving recklessly on Boynton Beach Boulevard. Officers attempted a traffic stop, and the dirt bike went down in the 800 block of North Federal Highway.”
Boynton Beach Mayor Steven B. Grant said “the city and the police are responsible” for the boy’s death.
“We should not blame the police department for the actions of an individual officer. However, the city and the police are responsible,” said Mayor Grant.
“You know, the situation that created this, you know, it didn’t happen just yesterday,” Mayor Grant said. “This is an aspect of how the city has treated parts of the community for decades before I was even mayor. And so the city is trying to understand and work with the community to get a result, resolution so that it is safer for everyone.”
The unnamed officer was placed on administrative leave Sunday amid an investigation led by the Florida Highway Patrol, according to the report. “Based on our preliminary investigation, the officer’s vehicle did not come into contact with the dirt bike,” said an FHP spokesman.
