Boston Police Commissioner William Gross on Friday shed more light on the details of a shootout between a Dorchester resident and BPD officers this week.
According to an eyewitness who spoke with the Boston Globe, the incident occurred late Monday evening, when two BPD officers confronted 19-year-old Jaymil Ellerbe, after responding to a report of shots fired in Field’s Corner. The witness said Ellerbe, who was armed, was first asked by officers to put down his weapon. Instead, Ellerbe fired two shots at the officers, beginning a firefight that ended in his death.
Gross said that the shooting was unfortunate and expressed confidence that the officers involved properly followed their training protocol.
“No officer wakes up in the morning and says, ‘Hey, I want to be involved in an officer involved shooting where it may result in a fatality,’” Gross said during an interview with Boston Public Radio. “This isn’t the time of Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson.”
Gross also said that the BPD is also working to actively promote trust within the community and is dedicated to keeping the process as transparent as possible.
“We don’t want anyone to think that BPD is like Ferguson or other cities that have been in the news,” Gross said. “You have to be transparent as much as you can, as long as it doesn’t jeopardize the integrity of the investigation.”
According to Gross, the reason the two officers were not wearing body cameras is because their unit currently is not required to do so. The commissioner, who said he is firmly in favor of requiring police officers to wear body cameras, said that the BPD is still in the process of properly training their officers to go out into the field with their cameras on.
“I’m a big fan of modern technology, advancement and 21st century policing,” Gross said. “What we’re doing now is training the rest of our officers, and we will be rolling out the body worn cameras in other districts such as the South End, Jamaica Plain [and] downtown.”
Otherwise, the commissioner was succinct about the matter. Since the shooting resulted in a death, Gross said the investigation is now in the hands of Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins. He revealed that while two responding officers to the incident did have body cameras on, he has been unable to access the footage, and Rollins' office will decide whether or not to release the footage.
