The fire union is pushing back at the mayor and police, saying firefighters stand by what they reported after rushing into a South Boston apartment this past weekend, a matter that triggered a 51A child-neglect alert.
Sam Dillon, president of Boston Firefighters Local 718, defended the firefighters who responded to an incident involving a dead man found in an apartment where four children were present, after the mayor and police department made statements debunking details reported by the fire department and media.
“Local 718 stands squarely behind the actions taken by our firefighters,” Dillon told the Herald on Friday. “The integrity of the firefighters involved in this incident is beyond reproach. Their swift action to address what they encountered should be commended by everyone involved.”
Dillon said the incident report prepared by the Boston Fire Department is “100% accurate,” and noted that firefighters arrived prior to police officers, and therefore encountered a different scene than was described by the police department in a Thursday night statement.
“Firefighters were there ahead of police — situations change minute to minute, hour to hour,” Dillon told the Herald. “What they encountered would have been different than what the police encountered when they arrived.”
In a statement, the police department said officers were called to 381 Old Colony Avenue at 11:11 a.m. Saturday, for a report of an unconscious person, who was being attended to by Boston Fire and EMS. The person was declared dead half an hour later, and the body was subsequently taken away by the medical examiner’s office.
Police described the adults on scene, who “had called for help when they became aware their friend was not breathing,” as “fully cooperative,” with responding officers.
“There were four children on site who all had a parent present in the residence,” the police statement said. “The parents and the officers who responded felt it was best for the children to stay in another room with one of the parents and took steps to avoid having the children see the deceased.”
Police reported filing a 51A child abuse or neglect form, and added, “Information that drugs and other concerning materials were strewn about the home is not supported by what officers encountered or by the information received on scene.”
Mayor Michelle Wu said at an unrelated event Friday that the incident, which occurred at the Mary Ellen McCormack housing complex, was a “horrible tragedy.” But she disputed “some of the information that’s been floating out there,” saying that it didn’t come directly from first responders.
Rather, Wu said “there have been some second- and third-hand accounts from those who were not at the scene,” that do not match reports that were filed, what she was told by first responders, and what she’s seen in the photos police took at the scene as part of the death investigation.
“It’s important to have a grounding in the facts of what occurred, and to let the proper authorities do the investigations and look into this,” Wu said. “We will do whatever it takes to protect our children in this city, but that also means not fueling conspiracy theories from, again, rumors that are not based on the facts of what happened there.”
The police statement and Wu’s comments are likely referencing media reports, including from the Herald, that quoted the fire department’s incident report and three city councilors, Michael Flaherty, Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy.
Flaherty had said he was “informed by people at the scene that there were drugs, alcohol, sex toys all around the apartment as well as a dead body on the floor.”
He also stated that the dead body was from an “apparent overdose,” and a man “wearing a wig claiming to be the father” of the kids was found in the backroom.
“If the Boston Police or anyone is relying on the responding police officers’ report and body cam, they are missing all of what happened,” Flaherty told the Herald on Friday. “Investigators need to speak directly to the firefighters since they arrived on the scene before the police, and what they saw disturbed them so much that they immediately took out a 51A.”
He added, “What matters more than the finger-pointing is that each child is safe now.”
The Department of Children and Families “has taken custody of the children who live in the home,” a DCF spokesperson said in a statement.
Sources had told the Herald some of the adults were dressed as women when first responders arrived, a detail alluded to in the fire department’s report, which stated, “approximately six adults, who appeared to be males, were seen in the apartment.”
The victim was described in the police report BPD provided to the Herald as a 28-year-old “male to female transgender” person, but the report doesn’t go into much detail about the “death investigation.”
Boxes checked on the report, however, indicate that police do not suspect a hate crime, drug use or alcohol consumption. Responding officers wore body cameras.
The Fire Department reported finding the apartment “in extreme unsanitary conditions.” Firefighters found four children, ages 5-10, “in the back bedroom being hidden by an adult male from first responders.”
Further, the report states that the adults they encountered were uncooperative, and did not provide helpful information.
“All adults present denied having children inside the apartment,” the fire department report states, adding that a 51A report was filed.
Dillon said there was drug paraphernalia present in the apartment, and the death appeared to be caused by a drug overdose.
A police spokesperson, the DA’s office and Wu all said Friday, however, that the cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner’s office.
“We are aware of the incident and the ongoing investigation,” a spokesperson for the Suffolk DA’s office said. “That investigation, and the findings of the medical examiner, will determine the future involvement, if any, of our office.”
