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Guy gripping both a machete and an axe goes after a group of teens in Downtown Crossing but is arrested before he can carve anybody up, police say
By adamg on Thu, 11/30/2023 - 5:48pm
Boston Police report an angry drug dealer with a machete in one hand and an axe in the other advanced on a group of teens on Temple Place as he challenged them to fight Monday afternoon.
Israel Silva, 51, of Roxbury, was arrested by officers who were conducting a drug investigation about 20 feet away but who broke away from that when they heard the sort of commotion that arises when a guy spoiling for a fight, with blades in both hands, goes after a group of scared teenagers, police say.
"The officers confronted the suspect and were able to successfully de-escalate the situation and place the suspect in handcuffs," police say, adding that, unlike the machete, the axe was "small."
In addition to the weapons, the officers found Silva was packing 30 individual packages of K-2 synthetic marijuana, 16 suboxone strips and a small digital scale, police say.
He was charged with two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, two counts of possession of a dangerous weapon, possession of a Class B drug with intent to distribute, possession of a Class C drug with intent to distribute, and disorderly conduct, police say.
Innocent, etc.
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Comments
That sounds more like
That sounds more like Downtown again. Did crime reporting also take a vacation?
Axe Cop?
Anyone remember Axe Cop?
Careful with that axe Eugene.
n/t
Silva (from Springfield?)
Silva (from Springfield?) looks like he is self-medicating with the wrong pills. What's the solution?
"Vidal said Silva has multiple diagnoses, including bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder. Silva is psychotic, has PTSD and is a substance abuser, she said."
https://www.masslive.com/news/2017/01/judge_said_mentally_ill_defend.html
What’s the solution?
The immediate solution is a secure physical barrier between him and the rest of us. Once that essential condition is established, we can talk about treatment. He doesn’t need to be punished; this isn’t about retribution or deterrence or justice; it’s simply about protecting the public from an active threat.
We are a rich country; we can afford quality mental hospitals that aren’t hellholes. We seem to lack the interest in providing them.
The question is
The question is where would we put them? The sites that were mental institutions in the city are now housing complexes. Olmstead Green comes to mind.
In this case?
I think Bridgewater is a solid option. Repeated violent outbursts fueled by known mental illness and self treatment with street drugs.
Thank Ronnie
Thank Ronnie Reagan for this. He campaigned in 1980 to 'close down the institutions'. And that started a long road of shutdowns of these places into the 1990s.
Those who were not placed in group home or other replacement facilities were simply let go to wander the streets.
And not that severe mental health issues went away.. they keep coming. And there's just not enough services for them. (and many that are there are poor quality).
The only way we would be able to do this again is to open state owned and operated facilities, which no one wants to do because you know.. the state would just farm this out to public-private entities, which already have shoestring budgets. (I've worked for a few).
There ain't no money to be made off of this so no private entity wants to do this. So here we are.
And this is just a small part of a much larger issue, where I'll correct your last two lines for
That should read instead as:
because this is really the case. If we didn't have for profit healthcare and instead have state/gov't run healthcare, we would have these facilities. We would be building for needs of the people, not whether a few bucks can be made off of someone's misery or whether its cost effective to keep facilities open (or open new ones)
Not so simple - deinstitutionalization was a civil rights cause
The move for deinstitutionalization was actual a movement for the civil rights of the mentally ill. State hospitals were hellholes, and involuntary commitments were greatly overused and abused - especially against those who didn't meet social norms, such as independent women, LGBTQ+ people, anyone who "embarrassed" their families.
Those working for the civil rights of the mentally ill didn't foresee everyone just being dumped on the streets. The goal was transferring funding/resources from the institutions to community care - group homes, outpatient mental health care, etc. Obviously that's not what happened,
Speaking as someone who was very aware of this movement at the time - during much of it I was in college and then getting a masters in clinical social work. As they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Well said, mg.
Well said, mg.
I volunteered in Art Therapy at Danvers State as a teenager. The patients I met and some of the staff were wonderful teachers to me.
Poverty also seemed to be a major component but not in all cases.
Well yeah
You're right there. But it was Reagan that drove that issue home and made it apart of his 1980 presidential platform.
My mom worked in this industry from 1983 to her death in 1994. We spent many days and nights with her and the clients she served. (oh boy you couldn't do that now). I'm well.. well aware of what went down. Mom had no love for Reagan at all because of this.
But yes you're right this was a civil rights issue, many of these places were hell holes and people were being neglected and abused. A lot of this started because of a early 1970s network news segment (60 minutes perhaps, I can't recall specifically) of what it was like inside these institutions.
I remember talking to some a lady.. Helen.. she was in 50s in the 1980s and she told us what it was like being in these places. Helen often said she was grateful for what happened and it got her out of those places and into a group home setting. Helen was a sweet lady, and deserved better, like all the clients who were in institutions like hers. They were not animals, they just needed more direct, focus care.
I have lots of stories about those days with my mom and her working with the clients. All similar to Helen's story. I have another story about a woman named Crystal, who was one of those who these institutions did no justice. But another story for another day.
I admit some of my opinion is biased, probably because of that and my mom. (Mom was a very liberal democrat). And I have such a different opinion about all of this because my exposure to all of this as a young boy. But I still maintain that much of the cause was b/c of Reagan.
Reagan had help
And some of that help came from the Democrats in the Great and General Court who closed the institutions with the "promise promise pinky swear promise" that community based support and care programs would be adequately funded.
Then they didn't bother funding them - much like the same highly corrupt wrecking crew made the T take on the debt from the Big Dig without the promised improvements when transit was supposed to be part of the deal. Sadly, there is no CLF for mental health to fix this failure, and there was no contractual ink requiring it either.
We're lucky
that there was a good guy with a machete and an axe.