Boynton chief: Criticism of police ‘needs to stop’
Vice mayor this week called for more patrols in area of 7 shootings.
BOYNTON BEACH — Boynton Beach Police Chief Jeffrey S. Katz fired back at critics of his department Wednesday in the wake of two shootings in four days that left seven people — including a 6-yearold boy — with gunshot wounds.
Katz was responding, in part, to pointed comments made this week by Vice Mayor Mack McCray, who said he’s repeatedly asked the police chief to increase patrols in the northeast section of the city where the boy was shot Satur- day, and has received “nonsatisfactory” answers.
Four adults and the 6-yearold boy were shot, possibly by a high-powered assault weapon, Saturday afternoon on the 500 block of Northeast Second Street. On Tuesday, two men were shot at 320 NE 13th Ave., less than a mile from Saturday’s shooting.
No o n e h a s b e e n a r re s t e d in either case and police have received little cooperation from residents.
Katz declined to respond specifically to McCray’s comments, but said, “There are some within the community who seek to blame the police for these shootings.”
Doing so, Katz said, is “problematic” because it undermines confidence in police, keeps people from coming forward with infor- For video from Wednesday’s Boynton Beach police awards ceremony, go to PalmBeachPost. mation and shifts blame away from criminals to law enforcers.
“As both a police chief and a citizen, I am frankly tired of the prevailing ‘blame the police’ narrative that has been so common in our society the last few years,” Katz said. “This needs to stop.”
Katz said he’s heard complaints from residents that officers are “over-policing” certain sections of the city while others insist the same areas don’t have enough patrols.