Police chief, DA smooth over their differences

It appears the frosty relationship between the city's two top law enforcement officials is thawing.

Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis and Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley have been talking on the phone and meeting occasionally over coffee in an attempt to resolve the conflict that erupted in July after Davis reshuffled his command staff without discussing the decision with Conley.

In the past two weeks, two men who spent most of the summer sniping at each other through the news media have seemed bent on showing the public how closely the agencies they head are working together.

Yesterday, Conley's office released a joint statement with the Police Department emphasizing the cooperation between the two agencies that led to an arrest in last month's fatal shooting of a 22-year-old Roslindale man. It was the third such announcement issued jointly by the men since Oct. 22.

"I've had several good conversations with the district attorney," Davis said yesterday in a telephone interview. "We still have some differences, but the working relationship that we have has to be solid and it is."

Conley, in a separate interview, characterized the relationship as "pretty good."

"Certainly the commissioner and I had a misunderstanding, a disagreement, and that happens from time to time," Conley said. "I'm sure it happened with our predecessors. Unfortunately, this one spilled out in the public."

The feud became public after Conley, furious that Davis had replaced the head of the homicide unit without consulting him, lashed out at him in the Globe, warning that the move could reverse progress made by the unit.

Tensions grew in September, when Conley put State Police detectives in charge of investigating homicides on or near MBTA buses, trains, stations, and platforms.

Davis publicly questioned the decision and said he worried that Conley was not considering what was in the best interest of the city's public safety.

The Boston detectives union immediately decried the move and vowed to stage protests at Conley events.

But in recent weeks, Conley and Davis seemed to want to show they were making amends. In September, they shook hands at a meeting in Roxbury of state, city, and federal law enforcement officials.

Then the joint statements began to appear, the latest regarding an arrest in the fatal shooting of Shawndel Mitchell last month.

"As with those homicides, Boston police detectives and Suffolk prosecutors investigated Mitchell's shooting death in close cooperation," the statement said.

It was a far cry from August, when Conley stood alone outside his office during a press conference to announce the arrest of a Roslindale woman accused of killing her two children.

Conley said the decision to release joint statements was made by both men to show the public their agencies have always worked well together.

"The joint releases reflect what's always been true, which is the DA's office and the Boston Police Department have a shared commitment to these cases," he said. "We work together to identify, apprehend, and aggressively prosecute homicide defendants."

Thomas J. Nee, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association, said he was pleased the men were trying to get along.

"It's good for public safety; it's good for the process," he said. "I hope it continues on."

But Jack Parlon, president of the Boston Police Detectives Benevolent Society, said he is still troubled by Conley's decision to take MBTA homicides away from the homicide unit, calling the directive unclear and confusing. He said his members would continue to protest Conley at public events.

"If he's making nice with the commissioner, that's his business," he said. "I'm not done yet. We'll be going in the neighborhood shortly and be wherever he is, whether he's with the commissioner or not."

Conley said his decision to direct homicide investigations on MBTA property to State Police was permanent.

"As far as I'm concerned the decision has been made and now it's time for all of us to move forward," he said.

Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com