Category: Police

Per new information on the attempted traffic stop by Boynton Beach police that killed a 13-year-old boy on a dirt bike, Tina Hunter identified Stanley Davis as her only grandson in an interview with WPTV 5. 

“That was my grandson, my only grandson,” said Hunter. “They chased him, chased him. He just panicked because he’s a kid. Chased him right to his damn grave and figured he’s just another Black boy and ain’t nothing is going to be done. That’s the prejudice of the Boynton Beach police that we’ve been having problems for all these damn years.”

The Florida Highway Patrol stated that it was likely that Davis lost control of his bike before crashing into a curb and hitting a sign, where he was pronounced dead at the scene. Many Boynton Beach locals noted that there was a reason that other police departments in areas such as Marion County had policies forbidding officers from chasing people on motorcycles or dirt bikes, noting that such a protocol would have prevented the death of Stanley Davis Jr. 

Following numerous requests to release footage capturing the incident, the police department’s Facebook page posted that the “vehicle involved in this incident” was “not equipped” with a dashcam.

Many expressed doubt that there was no dashcam on the car involved in the crash, given that the BBPD had built a new headquarters and equipped all of their officers and squad cars with cameras. Surveillance video released of the moments before the crash, furthermore, shows a more modern squad car trailing Davis as he left a gas station.

 

A 13-year-old boy was killed during an attempted traffic stop by Boynton Beach PD on Sunday afternoon. Police stated that they attempted to apprehend the boy, who was “riding recklessly”, and that the dirt bike went down during the attempted stop, killing the child.

In response to a publication by CBS4 Miami covering the story, a barrage of Twitter users expressed anger at the fact that the news organization had essentially copied a law enforcement press release and offered no attempt at confirming the claims of police. Frustration was also shown at the headline, which makes no mention of Boynton Beach PD or their involvement in the boy’s death.

Many also suggested that police may have rammed or even ran over the boy instead. Indeed, it is difficult to believe that a 13-year-old could have died by simply falling off a dirt bike, and the press release makes it intentionally vague as to how exactly the bike “went down”.