Boston Mayor Marty Walsh understands the challenges surrounding public safety throughout the city’s numerous neighborhoods. But somehow, the odds keep stacking higher against him. After the newly-appointed mayor announced several imminent initiatives he hopes will create cleaner streets, a slew of sexual assaults in East Boston and one in the North End have rattled residents down to their roots.
On Friday, Valentine’s Day, the Boston Police Department disclosed that a man “jumped a woman from behind last week and took her picture during an attempted sexual assault,” according to the Boston Herald. The police subsequently released surveillance footage in hopes of soliciting tips from those who reside in the North End.
The tight-knit neighborhood, with its narrow streets and numerous alleys, is already unnerved after 24-year old Eric Munsell was pronounced missing on February 8th. The Boston University graduate and General Electric engineer was celebrating his birthday at Market Lounge on Broad Street when he was asked to leave. His cell phone was last pinged after midnight near Long Wharf along Boston Harbor.
Most recently, on Monday, East Boston was subjected to a similar string of sexual assaults. The Boston Globe reports that two of the incidents occurred “about 20 minutes apart and involved a man wearing all black, who had a medium build, a mark on his cheek, and smelled of alcohol.” Police think these are related to a third incident, in which a woman was approached by a man wearing all black and showed her a knife.
It’s still early in Mayor Walsh’s municipal career; A number of agenda items and appointments exemplify his commitment to public safety. Since taking office in January, Walsh has tapped a new Commissioner and Chief of the Boston Police Department, expressed his intent to implement a gun buyback program, joined the nationwide organization Mayors Against Illegal Guns and named two community organizers to lead his neighborhood-level Mayor’s Safety Initiative.
Mayor Walsh has planted the seeds, now they just need to grow.
In the meantime, as ongoing BPD investigations hope to zero in on the suspects and prevent more from taking place, the mayor has upped the number of patrolmen in the North End and is urging women in particular to travel in pairs when possible.
“We certainly have increased patrols down there, both uniformed and non-uniformed officers,” Mayor Walsh said to the Herald. “It’s something that concerns me and concerns residents in the North End.”
The mayor also made it known that he and the proper authorities are reviewing other video that has yet to be released to the public. Stay tuned to BostInno for the latest information regarding public safety initiatives and follow-ups from the aforementioned assaults.
