Boston Mayor Michelle Wu explains why she offered condolences to family of man killed by police
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu responded Monday to criticism she received after offering her condolences to the family of a person police say was wielding a knife when he was shot and killed by an off-duty officer inside Chick-fil-A Saturday night on Boylston Street.
The armed suspect, later identified as 32-year-old Lmark Jaramillo of Roslindale, allegedly chased two people into the busy fast food restaurant and was trying to stab them.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu offers condolences
City officials said an off-duty officer attempted to Jaramillo to drop the knife, but when he refused, the officer shot and killed the suspect.
"My condolences and all of our thoughts are with the family of the individual whose life has been lost, and I'm also thinking of all the people who were impacted here today in one of the busier parts of the city with this tragedy," Wu said during a Saturday night press conference. "I'm glad the officer is safe and very grateful for a quick response from all of our first responders here again in such an active part of Boston."
Wu's remarks gained national attention on social media, including from Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace from South Carolina.
"Condolences from the mayor of Boston - wait for it - to a knife-wielding man trying to kill people! Thankfully this guy was stopped in his tracks by a brave law enforcement officer," Mace posted on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.
Mayor Wu explains response
Following an event on Monday, Wu was asked specifically about Mace's criticism.
"It's unfortunate to politicize being at the scene of a tragic incident. Our officers are in extremely difficult and dangerous situations every single day keeping our residents safe," Wu said. "I expressed condolences along with our police commissioner and district attorney because every loss of life is a horrible tragedy. I'm also grateful every hour of every day for the work of our Boston police officers. In this case we had an off-duty officer who saw something happening, his training kicked in, and took action and surely saved even more lives."
Wu was asked a follow up question about why she did not highlight the police officer's actions more.
"I am a mayor focused on not just being at press conferences, but being on the ground. So the point of being there was to make sure that everyone was OK on the scene and to find out directly what the details were, what had happened as they were unfolding in a very chaotic situation in one of the busiest parts of our cities," Wu said. "This is my job to show up when it's needed and to make sure that we are doing the work that's needed day in and day out, whether it's in front of the cameras, or especially when the cameras aren't there to take care of our city and keep everyone safe."