Boston Police, Leaders Hope to Curb Violence in Wake of Shootout

There has been progress in the battle for peace on Boston's streets, but as a police officer fights for his life, a shootout serves as a reminder that there is still work to be done.

Officer John Moynihan is in critical condition after being shot in the city's Roxbury neighborhood Friday. The man police say shot him in the face at a traffic stop, 41-year-old Angelo West, was shot to death by officers.

Boston Police Commissioner William Evans says authorities have struggled to bring down the rate of violence in the community. Officers like Moynihan, who works with the Youth Violence Strike Force, patrol areas hard hit with gangs.

"This is our worst nightmare," said Evans. "You take 1,000 guns off the street, you cross your fingers every night - I know I do when I go to bed, when I'm out - that this doesn't happen."

"Last year, the mayor himself took 15 of the top gang members, applied them to the union trade, professional jobs," said Boston Police Superintendent in Chief William Gross. "That's working out well - 14 of the 15 still going strong."

Community leaders are grateful that the city's police put their lives on the line daily.

"I have observed the Youth Violence Task Force make stops, because I live in the community," said associate pastor Mark Scott of the Azusa Christian Community. "They're done professionally, they're done respectfully, they're done in a way that is fair."

Moynihan is a decorated veteran who served as a U.S. Army ranger in the Iraq War from 2005 until 2008, the year he joined the Boston Police Department. Back in 2013, he helped rescue MBTA officer Dic Donohue, who was injured in the manhunt after Boston Marathon bombings. The following year, Moynihan received the Nation's Top Cops Award from President Barack Obama, honoring him for his "heroic and relentless" response in Watertown.

The shooting painfully reminds us of the risk officers take to make Boston a better city.

"I hate to say it, but I think we're under appreciated until a tragedy like this happens," said Evans.

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