Boynton Beach will reinstate a police officer who it fired after a 2021 chase ended in the death of a teenager.
An appellate court ruled on July 23 that the city wrongfully fired former officer Mark Sohn over his pursuit of 13-year-old Stanley Davis III. The ruling ends the city's two-year effort to block the officer's reinstatement, a move that an arbitrator originally ordered in 2024.
The city will not challenge the ruling handed down by the Fourth District Court of Appeal, a city spokesperson said. The details of the reinstatement terms, such as back pay, seniority and benefits, have yet to be finalized, a police spokesperson said.
Stanley Davis III died in Dec. 26, 2021, dirt-bike crash in Boynton Beach
The pursuit happened Dec. 26, 2021. Davis had stopped that afternoon at a Chevron gas station near Boynton Beach
Boulevard and Federal Highway to fill up the motorized dirt bike he received for Christmas.
Surveillance-camera video showed Davis pulling out of the gas station, heading west on Boynton Beach Boulevard as Sohn’s SUV entered the frame from Federal and followed immediately behind.
Moments later, Davis turned around and drove his bike east on Boynton Beach Boulevard, through the intersection onto North Federal. He turned left, followed by Sohn, who passed through the intersection five seconds afterward with his siren lights on.
Davis crashed and died shortly afterward as Sohn tried to pull him over, a police report said. Davis' 2022 Honda CRF450R-S dirt bike reportedly struck a median, flinging the boy headfirst into a street sign. He was wearing a helmet. He died at the scene.
He was traveling at about 85 mph moments before the crash, the Florida Highway Patrol later said.
Sohn's vehicle had no dashboard camera, investigators said. His body-worn camera footage, activated when he turned his siren lights on, has never been released.
FHP's investigation concluded Sohn was not at fault for Davis' death. Sohn has said he was investigating if Davis' bike was street legal.
But a city police investigation concluded that Sohn violated its vehicle pursuit policy, that his conduct was unbecoming for an officer and that he violated the officer code of ethics. Police may start a chase only if they believe the fleeing person has committed a "forcible felony," department policy states, such as murder, sexual battery and carjacking.
The city fired Sohn in August 2022 after several City Commission meetings that saw residents demand action against the officer. His union, the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association, filed a grievance. An arbitrator, James Mastriani, ruled in June 2024 that Sohn must be reinstated, albeit without backpay, seniority or benefits.
While Sohn violated city policy, Mastriani said, he was not fired for just cause. Furthermore, Mastriani said, given that Sohn was working motorcycle enforcement as part of a grant the city had received, the city provided inadequate training on that program.
Mastriani also ruled that inadequate penalties were issued against Sohn for past violations, placing him with "insufficient notice of the importance of compliance."
Boynton officer part of two previous chases that ended in deaths
During Sohn's 20-year career with Boynton Beach police, he had started two other high-speed chases that ended in deaths.
Sohn was suspended for one day after his 2012 pursuit of 38-year-old Cyrus Deal ended with Deal dead in a crash. Sohn said he believed Deal's vehicle to be stolen, but an investigation found it was not.
In 2016, Sohn gave chase to a speeding car that ended with the speeding driver hitting and killing 5-year-old Jayden Readon. He was not sanctioned for the incident. Readon's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city, which ended in 2025 when the city settled for $300,000 with the family.
The city sued the police union in 2024, asking a Palm Beach County Circuit Court judge to cancel Mastriani's ruling. Circuit Judge John Parnofiello ruled for the union in 2025. The city appealed to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, which upheld the lower court's decision.
Email Chris Persaud with news tips and article ideas at cpersaud@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Boynton to reinstate officer whose 2021 chase ended in dirt bike death
