BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — A veteran Boynton Beach police officer has been fired for his role in the pursuit of a 13-year-old boy who died after crashing his dirt bike late last year.
Officer Mark Sohn, a 20-year veteran of the Boynton Beach Police Department, was terminated after the completion of an Internal Affairs investigation, WPTV has learned.
Stanley Davis III died after an attempted traffic stop by Officer Mark Sohn on the day after Christmas.
A Florida Highway Patrol investigation found in March that Sohn did not act improperly while pursuing Davis and should not face any charges.
The teen was going 85 mph on a dirt bike when he fled an attempted traffic stop.
Interim City Manager James Stables told Sohn in a memorandum Thursday that he did not adhere to the city's policies and procedures during the events leading to the Dec. 26 crash.
"In this instance, instead of accepting responsibility for violating the city's policies and procedures, you have chosen to repeatedly stand on the fact that you 'were just doing your job,'" Stables wrote.
In the past 20 years, there have been more than a dozen reprimands for Sohn.
Sohn's disciplinary history includes two unsatisfactory performances in a vehicle pursuit. He was involved in one high-speed pursuit that resulted in the death of another child in 2016.
That incident also involved an attempted traffic stop in which the driver fled at 60 mph and fatally struck Jayden Readon, 5, as he walked on the sidewalk.
Davis' family members have repeatedly called for Sohn to face criminal charges.
Sue-Ann Robinson, an attorney for the Davis family, released the following statement:
"We are relieved that Mark Sohn has been fired. We can all sleep a little better knowing that he will not be patrolling the streets tonight. After having to bring Mark Sohn's 20-year reign of terror to the forefront while enduring the loss of their son Stanley Davis III, the city of Boynton Beach owes the family of SJ and the community more, but this is great news and a step in the right direction."
Stables wouldn't comment on the matter, other than to say that the Internal Affairs investigation has concluded.