Cambridge officers to wear body cameras
Cambridge police will wear body cameras in the wake of an officer shooting and killing a 20-year-old man who was approaching officers with a knife as he apparently experienced a mental health crisis.
The Cambridge police department has been under fire since an officer shot and killed Arif Sayed Faisal in the first week of the year.
“Sayed Faisal’s death is unquestionably a tragedy,” Cambridge City Manager Yi-An Huang wrote in an update this week. “I am fully committed to making changes going forward, including acting with urgency on the actions recommended by the Council.”
“We will implement body cameras,” Huang wrote in the update. “We will use alternative responses to emergency calls outside of the police department. We will evaluate additional less lethal options.”
The city will also hire an independent consultant to review and make recommendations across the police department’s training, policies, and practices.
“We will seek to strengthen the City’s mental health resources and enhance our outreach to underserved communities,” the city manager added.
On Jan. 4 at around 1:15 p.m., Cambridge Emergency Communications received a 911 call from a Cambridgesport resident who had seen a man apparently carrying a machete jump out the window of a neighboring apartment. The caller said he appeared to be cutting himself with both the weapon, later identified as a kukri knife, and broken window glass.
When officers and paramedics arrived on scene, they found Faisal bleeding in an alley behind a Sidney Street building.
Faisal then reportedly ran with the knife, traveling through several blocks in the Cambridgesport neighborhood before officers asked him to put the knife down. The man reportedly moved toward the officers while still in possession of the knife.
An officer first discharged a less-than-lethal sponge round, but that round was unsuccessful in stopping Faisal. He continued to advance toward officers. Then another officer discharged his department-issued gun and struck Faisal.
Officers rendered medical aid at the scene until EMS arrived. Faisal was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he later died.
Since Faisal’s death, protesters and many residents have called for greater transparency, including the public release of the involved officer’s name. The city has not released the officer’s name because the internal preliminary investigation has not shown “egregious misconduct and significant violations of the law” by the officer.
“Based on all of the information that has been reviewed so far, the department has not identified any egregious misconduct or significant policy, training, equipment, or disciplinary violations,” police said in a statement.
“The department can confirm that the involved officer, who remains on paid administrative leave, has had no complaints filed against them over the course of their 7-year career with the Cambridge Police Department,” the department added. “We will conclude the internal review process when we receive the completed findings from the District Attorney’s investigation.”