New Year's Statement
of Black Religious Leaders

In support of police professionalism and for increased resources for high-risk youth

Good afternoon.

This afternoon, we as members of the Black Religious community of Boston, want to express our deepest sympathies to police Sgt. Charles L. Byrne and Patrolman Robert J. Welby, and their families, in light of these officers having suffered serious injuries as victims of gun violence on New Year's Day 2003. We pray for these officers and for their speedy recovery, and praise their professionalism and courage in quickly responding to a local resident's call for help in response to a suspected gun incident. We believe their courage is in the best tradition of Boston's community policing model, which seeks to keep adults and our youth safe on city streets.

We also note the unfortunate situation of the suspect shooter, Mr. Jermaine Berry, who was known to public health, social service and juvenile justice authorities for several years as suffering from mental illness. Members of the faith community, and his family, attempted to get care for Mr. Berry, but the institutions responsible for such care were unresponsive. Because of this abdication of responsibility and failure on the part of these authorities, what began as a public and mental health concern became escalated in this incident to a criminal justice tragedy.

We call upon the public authorities to review their own conduct in this matter, and make the changes necessary to be more responsive to requests from residents who seek help for their relatives suffering from mental illness. We ask the new Governor, Mitt Romney, to initiate as part of his governmental restructuring proposals, new performance audits to examine the effectiveness and responsiveness of public agencies and their private vendors who are responsible for serving high-risk youth and their needs.

Finally, we request that Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry, as well as Governor Romney, promptly arrange to meet with the leadership of grassroots, faith-based organizations in Boston to discuss government's role in providing increased tangible resources and support for high-risk youth in the city of Boston.

Issued on Thursday, January 2, 2003 in Boston, Massachusetts