Reporter Honored for Story About Unsolved Murder of Ex-Watertown Police Officer

WBUR reporter and Watertown resident Bruce Gellerman received a New England regional award for his piece on the unsolved murder of a former Watertown Police Officer. Gellerman’s piece “Who Killed Gail Miles?: The Unsolved Murder of a Retired Watertown Cop,” won the Edward Murrow R. Award award for Best Investigative Reporting from the Radio Television Digital News Association. (See the story here). Miles, who was 61, was found brutally murdered on Dec. 3, 2011 in her Roxbury home.

Watertown Gun Buyback Collects 50 Guns, Plus Ammunition

The first ever Watertown gun buyback brought in many weapons – including an assault rifle – along with some ammunition on Saturday. 

Watertown Police Chief Michael Lawn was pleased with the event, which took place at First Parish Church, in conjunction with the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office and the Massachusetts State Police. “It went very well,” Lawn said. “We collected 50  guns and a bunch of ammunition. One of the guns was a AR-15 assault rifle.” The AR-15 is similar to the one used in the nightclub shooting in Orlando.

Watertown Police Get New Contract, Will Carry Anti-Overdose Meds

The Watertown Police patrolman’s union recently agreed to a new contract with the town, and last week it was approved by the state’s Joint Labor-Management Committee. 

Tuesday night, Town Manager Michael Driscoll announced the approval of the agreement, which covers Fiscal Years 2014-16. It will give patrol officers a 2.5 percent raise for each of those years. Driscoll noted this is the same increase given to other town unions. Other additions to the contract include all officers having to wear body armor when they are in the field, they must carry the anti-overdose drug Narcan and Epi-pens for people having allergic reactions. With the epidemic of opioids and heroin in Watertown, the fact that patrol officers will now carry Narcan pleased Councilor Aaron Dushku.

Residents Can Turn in Unwanted Guns at Buyback Event in Watertown

Watertown Police Chief Michael Lawn urges residents to bring their unwanted guns in exchange for a gift card at the first such event ever held in Watertown. Gun buybacks are more common in inner city areas suffering from gun violence, but the emphasis of this event is to make homes in Watertown safer, Lawn said. “When I first heard about it, I thought of ones with Boston with gangs,” Lawn said. “When they started talking about safer homes, it started to make sense.” Belmont held a gun buyback last year, which brought in more than 60 weapons.