Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/category/policefire/)
The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. May 31: A woman went into Target and took multiple items, including four Lego sets, and went through the self-checkout but didn’t pay. The items had a total value of $210. May 31: A passport was found in Watertown Square on the afternoon of May 31. The Watertown Police can be contacted at 617-972-6500 to claim it.
The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. From a prior week:
April 25: A resident of Stoneleigh Road whose back yard abuts Oakley Country Club’s golf course was in the yard when the resident saw a golfer come up to the fence and began relieving himself. Vines and bushes blocked the man but the resident saw a stream coming into the yard. The resident yelled at the golfer and called the police. The golfer was gone before police arrived.
The Watertown Fire Department got approval to run a second ambulance after the City Council approved funding to staff the ambulance on Tuesday. The vote came a couple weeks after the City Council’s Committee on Budget & Fiscal Oversight heard a presentation from Fire Chief Ryan Nicholson and members of the City administration. That meeting was the second hearing on adding a second ambulance. Nicholson said when calls are handled by the contracted ambulance run by Pro EMS, it takes longer to get to calls, and the City is losing reimbursement for the transportations to hospital when the outside ambulance handles a call. Additionally, he said that Watertown’s paramedics are overworked, morale is low, and several have left the WFD.
Watertown Police Officer Mike Hill looks at the screen in the Middlesex Sheriff Office’s Mobile Training Center. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
A trailer parked on a vacant lot in Watertown appeared quiet and tranquil from the outside, but inside Watertown Police officers faced intense situations in which they sometimes had to draw their firearms and even fire real bullets. The Middlesex Sheriff’s Office recently parked its Mobile Training Center on the former Sterritt Lumber site on Waltham Street for a week, so that the Watertown Police could take part in real world simulations with videos while using their own equipment. Lt. Kevin McManus, who oversees the WPD’s Training Division, said having the training center in town allows officers to go through some of the most realistic training while having the convenience of going through it while they are on a normal shift. The training center uses a system created by Laser Shot, and offers more than 600 different scenarios.
Watertown Police took four suspects into custody after an alleged armed robbery on an MBTA bus. See details in the announcement from the Watertown Police Department. On May 6, 2025, Watertown Police responded to a 911 call reporting an armed robbery that occurred on an MBTA bus. Watertown Police officers quickly located four suspects hiding in a backyard on Eliot Street. The investigation confirmed that the robbery took place onboard an MBTA bus within Watertown.
Two men were detained by several men identifying themselves as federal officers in Watertown near the Newton line on the morning of May 5, according to a report by Newton-based Fig City News. Fig City’s article was based on accounts of eyewitnesses and two videos of the incident seen by Fig City News journalists. The officials, who wore jackets with “HSI” and “Police” written on them, arrived in five unmarked vehicles. HSI (Homeland Security Investigations) is part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Photos show some of them wearing masks.
A Council committee voted to recommend that Watertown’s Fire Department should have a second ambulance after hearing about the alternatives and cost of running the second in-house ambulance. Watertown Fire Chief Ryan Nicholson said having a second ambulance would not just provide quicker response for patients in emergency situations, but would also increase the morale of the WFD’s paramedics. He gave his presentation to the Committee on Budget & Fiscal Oversight on April 29. At a prior meeting, Nicholson told the committee about how calls handled by the contracted private ambulance service, Pro EMS, often does not meet the National Fire Protection Association’s standards of providing emergency medical services within 9 minutes 90 percent of the time. For calls handled by the contracted ambulance, the NFPA’s standard is met 44 percent of the time, Nicholson said in March, while when Watertown’s ambulance responds the standard is met 96 percent of the time.
The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. April 28: A juvenile was seen taking merchandise from Nike valued at $50. April 28: A woman carrying two tote bags went into Ulta and took two creams worth $125 and $89. April 29: Security at Target spotted a woman taking items. She left the store before police arrived but was located in the area. She had taken $203.60 worth of merchandise.
Courtesy of the Watertown Police Department. Police arrested a Boston man for allegedly dealing fentanyl in the Watertown. See the announcement from the Watertown Police Department below. On April 22, 2025, Watertown Police, working with the Suburban Middlesex County Drug Task Force, arrested Wilkims Soto-Suazo for selling fentanyl to Watertown residents. Mr. Soto Suazo was arraigned [April 23] at Waltham District Court for Trafficking Class A Fentanyl over 36 grams (44.4 grams located).