Boynton Beach Family Demands Justice, Contends Boy, 13, Killed In Police Pursuit
BOYNTON BEACH (CBSMiami) – A Boynton Beach family is calling for justice after they say their son was killed in a high-speed pursuit that should have never happened.
Stanley Davis III, 13, was riding his dirt bike when a police officer attempted to pull him over for reckless driving. This resulted in a chase that ultimately caused the boy to crash and die.
It happened on Sunday, Dec. 26, 2021 and now civil rights attorney Ben Crump is getting involved.
Crump is representing the family of the boy who died.
"We are sad, we want justice, and united we are going to stand and fight," says Shannon Thompson, the mother of Stanley Davis III. "You need to be fired today, you have caused us hell in our life and enough is enough."
"My family has been divided, they've been torn by the incident Mark Sohn has created, 3 months later we still don't have answers," says Stanley Davis, II, father
"I haven't seen anything like this, someone with his rap sheet, he gives Derick Chovan a run for his money who killed George Floyd," says attorney Benjamin Crump
The officer, identified as Mark Sohn, has been involved in a total of three high-speed deadly chases that, according to attorneys, were all deemed unlawful. The victims of those pursuits: a man, a 5-year-old boy and now, most recently, a 13-year-old teenager. All of them African American.
"Had he been terminated with the prior incidents, my son would still be here with us," said Thompson.
In the surveillance video, you can see the boy pull out of the gas station and head out of frame. Then he turns around and you can see him driving down the road as a police car follows him with its lights on. Just three blocks later, Davis is dead.
"He was chased to his death and taken away from myself and the community," said Thompson.
In Boynton Beach, an officer is only allowed to engage in a high-speed chase if the person they're after has committed a felony crime like murder or armed robbery.
Attorney's working this case say Sohn has an extensive list of unlawful behavior.