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by Kerry Sullivan<\/em><\/p>\n Boston, MA (3-29-15) \u00a0—<\/strong>\u00a0Boston city police officer John Moynihan was shot in the face at point blank range by a black assailant. As the man, later identified as Angelo West, 41, ran away, Moynihan\u2019s fellow officers shot and killed him.<\/p>\n Police Commissioner William Evans spoke in a press conference about the shooting.<\/p>\n \u201cOur officers did what they had to do,\u201d the police commissioner said.<\/p>\n He called for calm in the predominantly black community in Roxbury, the neighborhood in Boston where the shooting took place. There are concerns that this shooting could get associated with other officer-involved shootings that have garnered national attention.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not about \u2018Black Lives Matter,’\u201d said Reverend Mark Scott of the Black Ministerial Alliance of Greater Boston. \u201cIt\u2019s about all-the-lives-in-the-community matter and it\u2019s about the police \u2026 responding to a concern from the community.\u201d He went on to describe how the white officer Moynihan had first been shot \u2018assassination style\u2019.<\/p>\n On Friday evening, around 6:30 p.m., Moynihan and fellow officers responded to a report of gunshots fired in the Hyde Park area. A surveillance camera captures how the officers pulled over a car leaving the scene. Moynihan approached the driver\u2019s side door in\u00a0a calm demeanor and without drawing his weapon.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout provocation, as the driver is getting out \u2026 you can see his right arm come up point-blank and shot officer Moynihan right below the eye,\u201d said Commissioner Evans.<\/p>\n The shooter, Angelo West, then tried to run away, firing a .357 Magnum at the other officers. They responded in kind and brought down the assailant.<\/p>\n \u201cNone of our officers like to use their firearms,\u201d said Evans. \u201cIt\u2019s probably the worst thing we have to do in our profession, but here, clearly unprovoked, one of our officers is shot point-blank in the face.\u201d<\/p>\n Moynihan is a highly decorated police officer. He is credited with saving the life of transit officer Richard H. Donohue Jr. during the gunfight with the Boston Marathon bombers in April 2013.<\/p>\n Last May, President Obama officially honored Moynihan as one of America\u2019s \u2018Top Cops\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are officers here who were in the thick of two attacks last year: the shooting at the Washington Naval Yard and the bombing at the Boston Marathon,\u201d said Obama. \u201cOn those awful days \u2014 and we all remember them \u2014 amid the smoke and the chaos, the courage of these officers shone through. And their quick thinking and level-headedness undoubtedly saved lives.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition, Moynihan has an impressive military record as an Army Ranger who served in Iraq from 2005 to 2008.<\/p>\n Moynihan is currently in a medically induced coma at the Boston Medical Center.<\/p>\n \u201cThey worried about bleeding in and around his brain,\u201d said Evans. \u201cThey\u2019re watching him closely \u2026and want to see how he\u2019s progressing before they make any determination of whether to have surgery. He\u2019s a tough kid.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Kerry Sullivan Boston, MA (3-29-15) \u00a0—\u00a0Boston city police officer John Moynihan was shot in the face at point blank range by a black assailant. As the man, later identified as Angelo West, 41, ran away, Moynihan\u2019s fellow officers shot … Continue reading