BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. – The Florida Highway Patrol concluded a traffic homicide investigation after a 13-year-old boy died during a chase and determined the officer was not at fault, the Boynton Beach Police Department announced Thursday.
Boynton Beach Police Officer Mark Sohn, who is on paid administrative leave, has yet to learn the outcome of the department’s Internal Affairs investigation.
“The FHP report found that based on the totality of the investigation, the accident occurred while the motorcycle operator was driving recklessly at approximately 85 miles per hour,” the department’s spokesperson wrote adding, “There was no physical contact between the police officer’s vehicle and the motorcycle.”
Stanley “SJ” Dale Davis III was riding away from Sohn in a high-performance 2022 Honda CRF450R-S motorcycle when he crashed and died on Dec. 26.
Sohn spotted Stanley at the Chevron gas station at 217 N. Federal Highway. He followed him and turned on the sirens. The 7th-grade student at Congress Middle School died near the intersection of North Federal Highway and Northeast Eighth Avenue — less than a mile from the gas station.
Stanley was the only son of Shannon Thompson and Stanley Davis Jr.
Attorney Ben Crump raised awareness on the case after learning Sohn, a veteran, had a record of pursuit policy violations. Stanley’s family is seeking damages for the loss.
“This is one of the worst files that I’ve ever seen on an officer,” Attorney Jasmine Rand, Crump’s co-counsel, said during a news conference on March 1st.
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