DEDHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - Community members are expected to gather on Sunday for a vigil in honor of 17-year-old Alonzo Polk, who died six days after being pulled from a pool at a graduation party in Dedham.
The vigil at Barnes Memorial Park in Dedham at 7 p.m. is aimed at showing support for Polk’s family and organizers said they plan to meet together at the park and Polk’s family will join them afterward.
Officers responding to a reported possible drowning on Netta Road at 12:30 a.m. Sunday learned that Polk, of Dedham, had been pulled from an in-ground pool during a party on the property, police said.
Bystanders performed CPR and Polk was taken to a Boston hospital, where he passed away Friday, according to the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office.
Investigators have since filed a criminal complaint in Dedham District Court that seeks charges against the homeowners including furnishing alcohol to persons under the age of 21 and reckless endangerment to a child, police announced Thursday.
The names of the people facing charges will not be made public until the court “makes a determination of probable cause and conducts an arraignment,” police added.
Polk, a former defensive back on the Dedham High School football team, is now being remembered as a standout student-athlete and a thoughtful, well-liked boy who loved his family.
“[He] was the most honest, loyal person I have ever come to know and will ever come to know,” said friend Rochelle Casey. “He is loyal, kind, compassionate, caring, he’s had my back since day one.”
“We offer our condolences to the family and friends of Alonzo who have been impacted by this tragic loss of life,” the Dedham Police Department said in a statement. “We ask that the privacy of Alonzo’s family and friends be respected as they grieve the sudden and heartbreaking loss of their loved one.”
A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office noted that Polk’s autopsy results have not yet come back.
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