LAWRENCE — Mayor Dan Rivera said Thursday he has set up an independent task force to look into the police department’s handling of the case of Lee Manuel Viloria-Paulino, who was found mutilated and murdered nearly two weeks after family members reported him missing.
Rivera said the panel includes prominent members of the Latino community who are familiar with government and law enforcement issues, including former Providence mayor Angel Taveras, in an effort to reassure the public.
Members of Viloria-Paulino’s family, with support from community members, have questioned whether police took their missing person report seriously, or whether they viewed him as a runaway teenager despite the family’s insistence that something was wrong. Rivera said he supports the department, and was told by department leadership that the case was handled properly.
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But, “We acknowledge that the Paulino family and the community have concerns, and we are listening to them, so I believe it is appropriate to empanel and conduct an independent investigation into this matter,” Rivera said at a news conference outside City Hall.
He added, “I think the community demands it, specifically the family.”
Other members of the task force include W. Dennis Aiken, a former FBI public corruption investigator; Mark A. Berthiaume, a former assistant US attorney who specializes in internal government investigations; and Norma Ayala-Leong, a Boston police deputy superintendent.
Rivera said he wanted people familiar with government and criminal justice issues as well as Lawrence’s sizable
Latino community.
Mathew Borges, 15, is accused of stabbing and decapitating the 16-year-old Viloria-Paulino, his Lawrence High School classmate. They were last seen together on the night of Nov. 18, when Viloria-Paulino’s family reported him missing. Borges has been charged with murder and is being held without bail.
Viloria-Paulino’s mother, Katiuska Paulino, on Monday questioned whether police responded properly.
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“I do want to ask a question, with all due respect, to the mayor, to the chief of police, to every police officer, detective, in our Police Department,’’ she told reporters. “If it was their kid, would they have waited two weeks to look for him?”
A spokeswoman said the family did not want to comment on Rivera’s announcement Thursday while they mourn Viloria-Paulino. His funeral is scheduled for Friday.
After the discovery of Viloria-Paulino’s body, Lawrence police Officer William Green told the Globe that his department treats missing person reports like “nuisances” and not worthy of investigation. The Globe learned Thursday that Green has since left the department.
Lawrence police spokesman Detective Thomas M. Cuddy said the missing person report filed by Viloria-Paulino’s family “was investigated as soon as possible, as soon as it was reported, within 24 hours.”
Department officials have previously said that as part of their investigation they turned to social media for help — the department posted the teen’s photograph on Facebook and Twitter one day after he was reported missing to police.
Rivera would not say whether the police force did anything else to investigate the report that Viloria-Paulino was missing, or whether the department followed proper protocol, saying the task force will make that determination.
State Police working with the Essex district attorney’s office were notified on Nov. 28 — 10 days after Viloria-Paulino went missing, said Carrie Kimball Monahan, spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.
While acknowledging the concerns of the family, the mayor said that some of the criticism of the Police Department may be politically motivated; one of the city councilors who criticized the department is considering a run for mayor.
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He said the police and the school department would soon hold meetings for public discussion, and the police department would conduct a separate community outreach effort to address concerns of crime in general.
“I’m anxious to have this huge discussion about how to fix Lawrence,” the mayor said.
Milton Valencia can be reached at Milton.Valencia@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter@MiltonValencia