Davis States the Obvious

Published Feb 22 2007, 02:15 PM by David S. Bernstein

It's way too early to say whether Ed Davis is doing a good job as Boston police commissioner, but God bless 'im for his willingness to speak the occasional truth about his department. As reported in today's Herald (and Globe, which clearly got wind of the Herald scoop and rushed a story to press last night), Davis has decided that his officers will never again use the pepper-pellet guns that killed Victoria Snellgrove in October 2004. Stating the obvious, he said that it maybe isn't a good idea to fire potentially deadly projectiles into crowds of people as a means to control them.

Obvious, but never said publicly by the city before. And shame on Mayor Menino, for his bland statement to the Herald in support of Davis's decision. Menino has publicly criticized the crowd, the bars, the manufacturer... everyone he could find except his police department for the tragedy.

A little more honesty, and willingness to recognize and admit mistakes and bad decisions, will go a long way toward restoring the public trust. Good for Davis for his efforts so far on that front.