By Eric King-
A cute 14-year-old boy who was groomed by gangs before being shot dead in Forest Gate, East London, was let down by the police, according to a serious case review. Young Corey Junior Davis “wasn’t seen through the lens of exploitation but as an offender”, a serious case review has revealed.
The report which examined the events leading up to the death of Corey Junior Davis was in receipt of support to help steer his life in the right direction, but he was too far gone on the wrong lane when he was brutally killed in a gangland shooting .
The report found that despite “hundreds of professional hours” provided to try and support the teenager, CJ’s future was doomed to face an untimely demise. The precise reason the youngster was killed has never been established, but it was almost definitely drugs related. Matters got worse when CJ’s mother one day found crack cocaine with a street value of £600 and threw it all away. She was acting in protection of her son, but she may have in the process put him in debt with dangerous people.
Known by his peers as CJ, the teenager was gunned down in a playground in September 2017. His assailants have never been brought to justice. His bereaved mother, Keisha McLeod complained several times about gang grooming, but no action was taken. The serious case review observed “little evidence that agencies effectively responded to his experiences as a victim”. Impressionable young people are easily groomed by senior drug dealers whom they disappointingly look up to as role models.
Young Corey Junior Davis With mum, Keisha Picture: Met Police
Concerns were first raised about CJ’s behaviour and for his safety in April 2016, with a police report stating he was “associating with troublemakers” and an officer believing he may be a target for gangs. One day CJ eventually revealed to his mum and his social worker that he had being forced into selling drugs on behalf of ‘elders’, that is older gang members. The young lad was also caught carrying a knife, which he claimed was for protection. He had also ordered a bulletproof vest online.
Police were expected to have done more for him, but when a 14 year old child agrees to purchase a bullet proof vest and sell drugs, they are walking a dangerous road. Police should have acted faster and put to one side his offending record because of the fact he is under age. They didn’t, and CJ’s poor mother has bene left to pick up the oieces.
Picture: Met Police