Boston Mayor-elect Michelle Wu called this week's police shooting a result of systemic failure Thursday.
The shooting, which occurred in Dorchester Tuesday afternoon, left the alleged shooter dead and three police officers wounded.
Police have not identified the suspect, but multiple outlets have reported him as 37-year-old DeShaun Wright, who was previously incarcerated.
On Thursday, prompted by questions from the press, Wu said the Boston is a community "where every single person is valued and seen and respected," and the city could be doing more to help people returning from incarceration avoid recidivism.
"We have systems that have failed our young people time and time again, and we need to ensure that there are strong accountability measures when there are incidents of violence and harm, but there need to be strong pathways to ensure that our returning citizens are coming into community with the supports and stability," that will lead to success, Wu said.
Asked whether the system failed in this case, Wu responded: "Yes, the system has failed."
Tuesday's incident came just days after a Boston police officer was stabbed while responding to a domestic violence call. Another officer opened fire, striking the alleged suspect, who was transported to a hospital and later pronounced dead.
Wu's comments on the latest incident came after a closed meeting in Roxbury with women from the nonprofit We Are Better Together Warren Daniel Hairston Project. The group works with women and girls impacted by homicide and incarceration to prevent cycles of violence and victimization.
The mayor-elect also responded to questions about her desire to reallocate police funding towards community-based programs for alleviating violence and poverty. The issue is controversial: Some interpret budget reallocation as a lowering of the value of public safety, while others view it as a necessary part of cultivating safer, healthier communities.
"We have a police overtime line item that has been growing and growing and growing and taking up resources that are badly needed in other parts of community needs. And so, to get that line item under control, to make sure we're using our resources in a way that matches what services are needed in the community will in fact require investing more in public safety and health," Wu said.
"Our officers," Wu continued, "are getting called into situations that often a different response might be more impactful. Whether it is those who are in a experiencing homelessness or in crisis, with substance use or with mental health and trauma supports. We need to be investing in the right ways.”
Wu, who canceled her scheduled Boston Police Department briefing this week in order to respond to Tuesday’s violence and visit injured officers in the hospital, is now scheduled to meet with police leaders just before she’s sworn into office next week.
