Boston cop in use of force probe put on desk duty

Boston cop in use of force probe put on desk duty

A Boston police officer has been placed on administrative duty as officials investigate whether excessive force was used in the arrest of a teenage boy at Roxbury Community College.

Police Commissioner Edward Davis announced on Friday that putting Patrol Officer Michael McManus on administrative duty was “in the best interest” of the ongoing probe.

The 32-year-old McManus has been in the police department since 2007.

The investigation began after video of last week’s arrest was posted on YouTube, showing at least one officer punching the 16-year-old and repeatedly using a knee to hit him as he lay face down, subdued by at least five police officers.

Police said the boy escaped from a juvenile detention facility and had outstanding warrants.

Davis has asked the Suffolk District Attorney’s office to join the probe.

More Mass. students drawn to charter schools

The number of Massachusetts children attending charter schools has more than doubled in the past decade, reflecting national trends.

Charter school enrollment climbed to 27,484 this year, up from 12,518 in 2000, according to data from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The number of charter schools has grown from 40 to 63 in the same span.

Kevin Andrews, president of the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association and headmaster of the Neighborhood House Charter School in Dorchester, told the Boston Globe that charter schools have given parents a choice. He says they are drawing students from families “tired of sending their kids to terrible schools.”

Charter school opponents say they drain money and talent from traditional schools.

 Associated Press