Boynton Beach cancels community meeting after getting notice of lawsuit in teen's death

BOYNTON BEACH — A community meeting scheduled for Thursday and expected to center on the death of 13-year-old Stanley Davis III was canceled by Boynton Beach officials after they received notice that the boy's family intends to sue the city.

The meeting was billed as an opportunity for the public to speak directly to municipal and law enforcement officials, including City Manager Lori LaVerriere and Police Chief Michael Gregory, about issues connected to Davis' case and other police matters.

Davis, a seventh-grade student at Congress Middle School, died Dec. 26 after he crashed his motorbike on North Federal Highway while being chased for alleged reckless driving by a Boynton Beach police officer.

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The tragedy has enraged many Black residents, who say it's the latest case of their mistreatment by the police department.

City Attorney James Cherof said Tuesday that the insurance carrier used by Boynton Beach has advised the city not to hold any meetings "that could spill over" into discussions on pending litigation.

In January, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, part of the legal team representing Davis' parents, announced plans to file a lawsuit against the city. State law requires that municipalities be given six months written notice before a lawsuit is filed.

Cheroff indicated the city received notice last week.

The cancellation, announced Tuesday during a marathon eight-hour city commission meeting, drew criticism from residents and commission members.

The city previously canceled a "community conversation" set for Feb. 22 and rescheduled it for Thursday.

"It creates this friction that is totally unnecessary," Commissioner Ty Penserga said. "We were saying we were going to have the meeting. Now we can't have a meeting. If we couldn't have it, we shouldn't have said that we were going to have it."

Stanley Davis Jr., the boy's father, called the cancellation "a slap in the face."

"What is it that you guys are really hiding to cancel this meeting?" Davis said.

The discussion sparked a quick verbal skirmish between Cheroff and outgoing Mayor Steven Grant, who pushed to set up a meeting between the public and Gregory this month. Grant referred to it as a "workshop."

"I don't care what you call it," Cherof responded.

"Well, I do," Grant replied. "I don't like the tone."

"Well mayor, you keep pressing this issue," Cheroff said.

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Davis' family and supporters have demanded that Mark Sohn, the officer involved in the boy's case, be fired. Police and court documents show that Sohn has a long disciplinary history during nearly 20 years with city, including several instances of violating the department's pursuit policy.

The city refuted comments this week by an attorney representing Davis' family that Sohn was back at work.

Without naming Sohn, LaVerriere said in a statement that the officer was "relieved of duty" on Dec. 26 and "remains in that status." Sohn is on paid administrative leave while the Florida Highway Patrol conducts an investigation into the crash.

"While in this status, the officer is not authorized to take any police action," the statement said.

jmilian@pbpost.com

@caneswatch

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Lawsuit threats lead Boynton to cancel meeting over teen's death