Officer and son of man he fatally shot make amends 30 years later

SOMERVILLE, Mass. — Nearly 30 years after a fatal shooting inside the Somerville police department, a former police officer and the son of the man he shot came together in a life-changing meeting they had never expected.

In 1988, Franco LaPorta entered an open door to the dispatch center at the police department. High on drugs, holding a knife and rambling, he approached then-police officer Joe Voutour. Defending himself, dispatchers and a civilian near him, Voutour ordered LaPorta to drop the weapon three times before he fired one shot, killing LaPorta, Voutour told Boston 25 News Tuesday. Investigators ruled the shooting justified, and Voutour received an award for his actions.

Keith LaPorta, who was just 13 months old at the time, grew up only knowing his father through pictures and family stories.

His mother struggled to raise four kids on her own. Keith ended up in and out of foster homes, abusing drugs and spending time in juvenile detention and later prison as an adult.

"My whole life, I resented police officers ," Keith told Boston 25 News Tuesday. "I hated police. I grew up in a life of crime. I wanted nothing to do with police. My whole life, I hated this man. I didn’t even know who he was."

What Keith didn't know was that Voutour, too, was suffering, reliving the incident in flashbacks and wondering about the wife and children left behind by Franco LaPorta, whom Voutour had gone to school with.

"I gave up my career over this incident," Joe said. "I've carried the weight of this all these years. I've buried it in the back of my mind. I don’t discuss it with my family or my friends."

It wasn't until September of this year that Keith learned who Joe was after reading a Somerville News Weekly article in which Joe was featured as the 'Special Person of the Week.'

Approaching a year of sobriety and having a new perspective on life, Keith set aside his anger and began to understand why Joe fired that single shot 29 years ago.

“Joe’s a good man,” Keith said. “When I Iook at it now, it’s like, my father was under the influence of drugs and alcohol. He went into a police station with a knife. Yes, something bad’s going to happen.”

Hoping to make amends with a man for years he wanted to kill, Keith reached out to Joe, who had left the police department two years after the incident. Joe now lives between Maine and Florida, but would soon be returning to Somerville for a wedding.

On Monday, the two came together for an emotional meeting at a Dunkin Donuts, talking, crying and hugging one another.

"I'm able to look in his eyes and say, 'I forgive you,'" Keith said. "And I hope he can get some of the weight off his chest. So we both get some closure."

On Tuesday night, they met again at the police department, Joe explaining to Keith where and how the shooting occurred.

In those frantic moments nearly 30 years ago, Joe said, he had tried to fire a non-fatal shot. Keith’s father, he said, was aiming the knife at his neck.

“I share your pain. I’ve always shared the pain,” Joe said, turning to Keith in tears. “It will never go away.”

Keith, now 30 years old with a wife and children, helps others in recovery, too, through his work and speaking engagements. When he tells his story to others struggling with addiction, he always starts with a part that involves Joe. Now, he says, his relationship with Joe strengthens him in his recovery.

"I can't change my past, but what I can do is use the pain of the past to build a better future for both of us,” Keith said.

Keith and Joe plan to stay in touch and remain friends.

A tragedy that nearly destroyed two people brought them together instead.

"It’s a step in the right direction to cope with the matter, so we both have benefits from this day forward," Joe said. "It's been a lot of heavy baggage for all of us."

Cox Media Group