As officers struggled with suspects to get into a West Springfield Street doorway on Sunday afternoon to pursue a man they believed had a gun, suddenly the doorway opened slightly wider.
One officer who was in front, and had his foot in the door, saw the opening, then heard a gunshot.
Suddenly, he realized the two men had fired on him and he had been hit.
“The officers were yelling ‘police’ and to open the door,” read the police report. “It was readily apparent to the officers that there was someone on the other side of the door attempting to close it and was struggling against the officers trying to open the door. At one point, the door opened enough for the officers to see inside the apartment, which was extremely dark, having no lights on. At that point, the officers observed a muzzle flash from the interior staircase and also heard the shot as it happened…It should be noted that at the immediate time that the door was allowed to be opened further was the exact time that the shot was fired at the officers.”
Police Commissioner Willie Gross said he and Mayor Martin Walsh have had enough of an attitude among some in the City that feel it’s okay to fire on police officers, this following a startling situation on West Springfield Street in the South End last Sunday afternoon where a Boston Police officer was shot brazenly by a man with a handgun.
The officer, who has yet to be named, was part of the citywide Youth Violence Strike Force and not from the D-4 Station. His injuries are non-life threatening as he was shot in the lower leg.
“Mayor Walsh and I, we’re highly upset at this,” said the commissioner. “It shouldn’t happen. Here we go. Another individual with a firearm on the street. But as I always say, it’s not going to deter us. We’ll be out here each and every day sending the same message. We will work with you, the good citizens of Boston to make sure everyone else gets it. If you don’t get it, you will be locked up.”
Two men have been arrested and charged.
Requon Remy Martin, 21, of Boston, and Antoine Mack, 35, of Pawtucket, RI, were charged in the incident and held without bail in Roxbury District Court this week. They were to have a dangerousness hearing on Wednesday afternoon, which came too late for publication.
The incident started at 1:55 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 23, in front of 91A West Springfield St. in the South End. Three officers from the Strike Force were on routine patrol when they encountered a car double parked in front of the apartment and blasting loud music. They stopped behind it, and as they did, they observed two men standing by the door of the apartment get up and clutch their waist. That, in officer training, is consistent with concealing a firearm.
The police report said officers exited the car to talk to the three men, and the two by the door fled inside.
As officers came to the door of the building, the two men allegedly tried to close the door on them. That’s when the victim officer was able to lodge his foot in the door and the struggle ensued. Eventually, the officer was shot in the calf.
One man, Mack, quickly exited the building and was arrested.
However, Martin refused to exit and barricaded himself inside. That brought a ‘Code 99’, which called in the hostage team and the SWAT team, but after a short period of time, Martin exited and was taken into custody.
There were no shots fired by the police.
Gross said the officer will recover, but it’s not a good situation when people feel like they can shoot brazenly at the police.
“From ambushes to the death of three police officers in the Commonwealth to now, it’s a very dangerous job, but it is our job to patrol and protect the people of Boston,” he said. “Unfortunately some people take that against us… For me personally, it’s heart wrenching. Folks are doing their job protecting the city and that’s the attitude these days. We’re coming up to talk to you, and you can just fire upon us. That’s heart wrenching. Just imagine one of your family members getting hurt when they did nothing wrong. They were lawfully present and I saw the officers. Everybody had their badges clearly displayed on their outward garb. So, they were lawfully present in a common hallway where no one has any standing. It’s disappointing as well and I know for a fact it’s disappointing for residents of this City as well.”