City Council president calls for investigation after toddler spends night at Mass. and Cass

Local News

The child was found to be in good health, but police filed a report with the Department of Children and Families.

Boston City Council President Ed Flynn is calling for officials to investigate after it was found that a 2-year-old spent a night near Mass. and Cass, where prevalent drug use and other criminal activity could endanger a toddler. 

Flynn said in a social media post that he requested that the Boston Public Health Commission open an investigation into the matter. The situation at Mass. and Cass, where crises of mental health, substance abuse, and homelessness overlap, is a “public health crisis,” he said. 

Boston police officers responded to 115 Southampton St. last Friday at around 8:15 a.m., where they met with a Boston Fire Department lieutenant. An outreach worker had informed the lieutenant that there was “a female with a baby on Southampton Street,” according to the report. 

“Southampton Street and its surrounding areas are known for the avid use of drugs, illegal drug sales, human trafficking and violence,” police noted in their report. 

Officers found the woman and her son at the address they responded to. When asked why she was in the area, the woman said that her car was towed the night before while it was parked at a McDonald’s on Massachusetts Avenue. 

Police were called to that lot just after 9:30 p.m. the night before, according to a separate report. A car had been parked in the lot for an extended period of time. They found the woman in question in the car, asleep. She told police that she delivers food during the night and was “extremely tired,” causing her to fall asleep. Her son was also in the car, according to police. Officers found that the vehicle’s registration was expired, and it was towed. 

On Friday morning, the woman told officers that she spent most of the night afterward at Boston Medical Center with her son, trying to stay warm and charge her phone. She said she left around 6:30 a.m. to get “dosed” at the Boston Comprehensive Treatment Center, a methadone clinic. 

Security officers told police that the woman was seen Thursday night on Atkinson Street pushing a stroller with a young child in it. Workers with BPHC confirmed to police that the woman was seen at a gas station around 7:30 a.m. Friday “nodding off” near a gas tank with a child present, according to the report. 

On Friday morning, the child was found to only be wearing a single layer of clothing, despite temperatures between 40 and 45 degrees. The fire department lieutenant provided a blanket to keep the child warm. Boston EMS arrived to evaluate the child, who was found to be in good health, according to the report. Boston EMS gave the mother and child a courtesy ride to the treatment center. 

The fire department lieutenant also told police that morning that the mother and child had been in the company of a man who was “under the influence of an unknown substance.” The woman told authorities that the man is the child’s father. Police found that the man had two active warrants out for his arrest on charges of driving under the influence and for drug possession. He was found and arrested later Friday morning. 

At about 10:45 a.m., police were informed that the woman was still in the area, on Topeka Street. Officers arranged for an Uber to pick the woman and child up and bring them to her home address. When police spoke with her again, they found the child “sleeping peacefully” in his stroller. The woman declined the Uber ride and “became uncooperative.” She said that a friend was going to pick them up. 

Police filed a 51A report with the Department of Children and Families. These reports are filed by professionals who suspect a child is being abused or neglected. 

The situation at Mass. and Cass has vexed city leaders for years, and earlier this summer Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said public safety concerns had spiked there. She introduced a plan in August to clear temporary structures and tents from Atkinson Street with the goal of making it a functional roadway again. 

That plan was the subject of a City Council working session that lasted more than 7 hours Monday. Councilors are expected to take up the ordinance during their meeting Wednesday.  

“The situation at Atkinson Street and Mass and Cass has already reached a stage where dramatic intervention is vital. [BPHC] must declare this crisis a public health emergency and these tents must come down immediately.” Flynn said in a social media post Sunday.