US AGREES TO REVIEW FATAL SHOT BY OFFICER

The US Attorney's Office in Boston said yesterday it is launching an
investigation into the fatal shooting of a Dorchester man by a member of
the Boston Municipal Police Department.

Ricky Bodden, 29, was killed in December by 23-year-old Officer Kyle Wilcox
in an encounter that began with the questioning of Bodden and two friends
and ended with a foot chase just outside a Dorchester park.

Samantha Martin, a spokeswoman for US Attorney James B. Farmer, said
federal prosecutors met yesterday with Bodden's family and concerned
community leaders to discuss the case.

"We've agreed to investigate," said Martin, who declined to provide details
about the probe.

Evelyn Bodden, Ricky's mother, said yesterday she felt gratified about the
reopening of her son's case. "Everybody was thinking that this thing is
over," Bodden said. "It's not over. And it's going to be looked at close
up, finally."

The US attorney's move comes three weeks after Suffolk County District
Attorney Ralph C. Martin II and Boston Police announced that no criminal
charges would be brought against Wilcox, saying he acted in fear for his
life when Bodden pulled a gun from his jacket as he ran from the officer.

Martin said Wilcox made a "split-second decision" that was justified, a
ruling that outraged Bodden's family and some community leaders, who raised
questions about the circumstances that led to the chase.

When he shot Bodden, Wilcox had spent just three months on the Boston
Muncipal Police, a separate force from Boston Police that patrols city
parks and buildings. Wilcox stopped Bodden and two men in the
Quincy-Stanley park smoking what he suspected was marijuana, the DA determined.

Bodden was smoking a cigarette, and no drugs were found at the scene,
though autopsy reports showed drugs in Bodden's system.

When Wilcox sought to search Bodden, Bodden ran and Wilcox gave chase.