BOSTON, March 28, 2015—Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley today offered prayers for a Boston Police officer who was shot in the face by a gunman, and he pledged an impartial review of the Roxbury incident that left the apparent suspect dead and another person with minor injuries.

“Our thoughts and prayers today are with the officer and his loved ones,” Conley said. “He has the whole city behind him as we’re reminded yet again of the dangers that confront police at every car stop and call for service. In the days and weeks to come, as we gather the evidence surrounding this incident, the public can count on a full and transparent account of the facts. For now, we’re giving the investigators the tools and the time they need to do the job right.”

Conley responded to the scene last night with his chief courtroom prosecutor, First Assistant District Attorney Patrick Haggan, and the chief of his Homicide Unit, Assistant District Attorney Edmond Zabin.

Because the Suffolk DA’s office has a statutory authority to investigate unnatural deaths in the City of Boston, Conley directed Haggan to undertake a comprehensive review of the facts and law surrounding the shooting. Haggan will work with the Boston Police Firearms Discharge Investigation Team, which draws investigators with the highest levels of experience and integrity from the BPD Homicide Unit and other specialized units to gather the evidence in police-involved shootings in the City of Boston.

Conley said he will release a comprehensive account of the evidence gathered during that investigation to the family of the deceased, community stakeholders, and Boston’s impartial news media when it is complete – a policy more than a decade old in Suffolk County but unparalleled almost anywhere else in the country.

“We fully recognize the importance of transparency in a case like this,” Conley said. “As we have many times before, we’ll provide the community and the media the opportunity to review our findings.”

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.