Four members of the Watertown Police Department who took on the Boston Marathon Bombing suspects will received medals of honor at the State House.
On Wednesday Nov. 19 at 10 a.m. the medals will be handed out at the 31st annual Trooper George L. Hanna Memorial Awards for Bravery ceremony.
Sgt. Jeffrey Pugliese, Sgt. John MacLellan, Officer Joseph Reynolds and Officer Timothy Menton will receive medals of honor at the event. The ceremony will be held in the House Chamber in the State House, and will be followed by a luncheon.
The Hanna Bravery Awards are presented to police officers who displayed bravery during the 2013 calendar year. The medal of honor is the highest award given.
Reynolds was the first officer to make contact with the Tsarnaev brothers on the evening of April 19, 2013 at the intersection of Dexter Avenue and Laurel Street. He had been on the look out for two carjackers. Moments after he turned his cruiser around the brothers, who turned out to be the Boston Marathon Bombing suspects, began shooting at him.
MacLellan quickly arrived on the scene and joined the firefight. He decided to put his vehicle into neutral and rolled it at the men firing at the officers to distract them.
Pugliese had been at the Police Station finishing paper work. He jumped in his own minivan and raced to the scene. When he arrived, he flanked the Tsarnaevs by running through some back yards and came at the suspects from the side.
After the shooting died down, Menton ran to help MBTA Police Officer Dic Donahue who had been hit by a bullet during the firefight. He helped two firefighters, including his brother Patrick, get Donahue into the ambulance. As the firefighters tried to stop the bleeding Timothy Menton hopped in front and drove the ambulance to Mount Auburn Hospital.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev died from injuries at the scene, including being struck by a car driven by his brother Dzhokhar. Police found Dzhokhar in the early evening of April in a boat parked behind a home on Franklin Street after the town was locked down so law enforcement could search homes and neighborhoods for Tsarnaev.