Late Wednesday night, two Boston police officers were responding to a disturbance call when, without warning, they were fired on by a man wearing body armor who was armed with a tactical shotgun and a handgun.
Officers Rich Cintolo, a 27-year veteran, and Matt Morris, with 12 years on the job, were both shot and seriously wounded by 33-year-old Kirk Figueroa, who had gotten into an altercation with his male room mate. The room mate then called police, which precipitated the shootings. Other responding officers were able to drag Cintolo and Morris to safety while also taking fire from Figueroa, who was eventually shot and killed by police.
Figueroa, who claimed to own a company called 'Code Blue Protection Corporation' with alleged assets totalling $75 million dollars, was a licensed constable in Massachusetts although he was not licensed to carry a firearm. Constables in that state serve legal papers and civil summonses. Neighbors, along with Figueroa's ex-wife, stated that the deceased suspect had severe anger issues.
Boston Police Commissioner William Evans, in praising the coppers who rescued Cintolo and Morris, said "...I commend our officers for running into that building with no fear...". While it was an act of extreme heroism on the parts of the officers involved, I suspect there was a lot of fear involved. Ask any police officer who has been shot at or who has responded to a call involving an active shooter and, to a person, they'll tell you they were very afraid. Bravery, according to WW II General Omar Bradley, is the "...capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death."
Very true. Any cop who says they were never scared on the job are either liars or spent their careers behind a desk.
Cintolo and Morris, after emergency surgery and several blood transfusions, are recovering in a Boston hospital, though both are still in critical condition. In an unusual twist, Cintolo's' father, himself a retired Boston police officer, was also shot in the line of duty while responding to a disturbance call, in 1980. He survived his wound.
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Some things people say concerning the world of law enforcement, particularly media reporters, drives me up a wall.
I read numerous news sites on the internet every morning while drinking a hot cup of Tim Horton's black gold; yesterday, a TV news reporter stated on a website that a man had been sentenced for '...felony murder.'
Folks, there is no such thing as 'misdemeanor' murder. Doesn't exist. Murder is a capital crime, not a misdemeanor offense. I've also heard it on prime-time Hollywood versions of cop shows..."you're under arrest for felony murder!"
Insane.
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Locally, a man involved in the homicide of an elderly woman was declared mentally incapable of understanding the law and that he had done something wrong. Never mind the facts that he and his female accomplice, who also has been charged, knew enough to dismember the victim and scatter her remains across northern Richland County, use the decedent's credit card in order to flee the state and then hide in a roadside camping area in a park located in Tennessee.
Sounds to me like he knew exactly what he had done.
BPD officers Rich Cintolo and Matt Morris
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