Kennedy calls Lynn cops ‘remarkable’

LYNN – Lynn Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy on Thursday praised the Lynn Police on how they handled a fatal confrontation between officers and five suspects on Ingalls Street Sunday night.Asked how she thought officers handled the incident that ended with the shooting death of one of the suspects, Brandon Payne, 23, of Lynn, Kennedy said during a brief interview Thursday, “I think they?ve been remarkable.”She then added in her first public comments on the incident, “I?m sure none of them wanted to take the actions they ended up having to take.”Three Lynn police officers and one Massachusetts State Trooper shot at a car driven by Payne, which they say slammed into an unmarked police cruiser and continued to ram it while trying to escape, according to Lynn Police and a statement issued Wednesday by Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett.Two bullets struck Payne and he died early Monday morning from his injuries, according to Blodgett?s office.Police were trying to stop a planned armed home invasion by Payne and four other suspects at the time they tried to stop his vehicle, according to Blodgett?s statement, but family members have denied that. Police have arrested three other suspects, but one remains at large.Asked Thursday if she was concerned about Payne?s upcoming funeral and if she would ask for extra security at the event, Kennedy said, “I?m not worried about that.”Ward 3 City Councilor Darren Cyr represents the Ingalls Street neighborhood where the incident occurred.Like Kennedy, he also praised Lynn Police and the Massachusetts State Police for how they handled the incident, and offered sympathy to the officers involved.?My heart goes out to the police officers and their families for being put in that position they were put in,” Cyr said Thursday.He pointed out that none of the police involved likely ever expected to be in a shooting that ended with Payne?s death.?I don?t think any of them go to work with the intention of getting involved with something like that,” Cyr said. “Thank God we have cops like that in the city of Lynn and also the State Police.”The neighborhood has “been cleaned up a lot” in the past few years thanks to the efforts of the Lynn and State Police, along with residents who live there “taking the time to get to know each other,” Cyr said.?These guys (the suspects) aren?t even from that neighborhood,” Cyr said. “They?re coming in from other areas of the city and doing what they?re doing.”Police recovered a loaded .357 revolver from Payne?s vehicle and recovered a loaded pistol grip shotgun and a loaded 9 mm handgun from the other vehicle police attempted to stop during the incident, according to police and prosecutors.Police arrested Sincere Lawson, 23, of East Orange, N.J., and Lynn residents Khyron Jolley, 28, and James Finley, 34, and charged each with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, a car, and carrying a firearm without a license, in connection with the incident. A fifth suspect remains at large, police say.Blodgett?s office issued the statement after the district attorney met with federal, state and local law enforcement officials Wednesday morning.City Councilor at large Daniel Cahill acknowledged Thursday “there are a lot of opinions out there on both sides” about the police shooting.But he believes Lynn and State Police acted appropriately.?I have full faith in the Lynn Police Department and the State Police,” Cahill said.City Council President Tim Phelan said Thursday he hasn?t yet read any of the police reports prepared in connection with the incident.But he did say about the incident, “I hate to see the loss of life of anybody. I?m glad it?s not a Lynn police officer that we?re mourning today and by all accounts this gentleman (Payne) was bad news.”Jeff McMenemy can be reached at [email protected].