Boston Officer Shoots Unarmed Man

BOSTON (AP) - A police officer fatally shot an unarmed man he had stopped for driving the wrong way down a one-way street with his headlights off, authorities said.

``The exact sequence of events is still under investigation,'' Deputy Superintendent Paul Farrahar said.

The officer stopped Willie Murray Jr., 37, around 4 a.m. Tuesday, authorities said. The officer reached inside the car, and Murray allegedly rolled up his window and accelerated, The Boston Globe and WHDH-TV reported, citing unidentified officials.

The officer shot Murray once in the head with the gun in his other hand, the newspaper said.

Police spokeswoman Mariellen Burns said Wednesday that the department would not comment on the reports.

Police would not release the officer's name but said he was placed on administrative leave during the investigation.

An unidentified passenger in the car was not injured.

Murray, who was on parole for a carjacking conviction, was first spotted by two other officers who thought the license plate was suspicious, authorities said. However they lost sight of the car, Farrahar said, adding that it was determined the car was not stolen.

Murray was the fifth person fatally shot by Boston police in 15 months. A sixth was shot by an officer with the independent force that patrols city-owned parks and buildings. None of the earlier shootings resulted in criminal charges.


02/13/02 12:33


Send mail to  webmaster@theppsc.org with questions or comments about this web site.