Police/Fire

Police Bust Watertown Man After Joint Drug Investigation

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Police busted a Watertown man for allegedly dealing drugs on the Westside of town. 

Watertown Police teamed with the Suburban Middlesex County Drug Task Force to investigate drug dealing activity in town. Police followed a suspect and pulled the suspect over on Prentiss Street and identified him as Shah Faisal, 25, of Watertown. When officers searched him, they found Percocet pills, said Watertown Police Lt. Michael Lawn. Faisal was arrested on a charge of possession to distribute a Class B drug, Lawn said.

Police/Fire

Town Manager Fires Back on Watertown Firefighters’ Contract Dispute

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Watertown Town Manager Michael Driscoll has been silent about the contract dispute with the Watertown Firefighters since the Town Council rejected the arbitration award in December, but this week he rebuked many of the contentions of the union and its supporters. Driscoll made his statement at Tuesday’s Town Council meeting. The Council voted 8-1 against supporting the award presented by a neutral arbitration panel, saying that it was unfair to other unions in town because it would give the firefighters larger raises than others had received. Tony Palomba voted for the agreement. Contract Numbers
The firefighters sought raises well in excess of other unions, Driscoll said, who said that the union wanted raises and other benefits that would have given an increase of 19 percent.

Police/Fire

Man Punched When Suspect Attempts to Rob Him on Mt. Auburn St.

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A man reported being attacked by a suspect who tried to rob him as he walked along Mt. Auburn Street at night last week. The man told Watertown Police that he was walking along Mt. Auburn near Irma Avenue at about 10:30 p.m. on June 4, when he was attacked, said Watertown Police Lt. Michael Lawn. “The man said the suspect turned and said, ‘Give me some money,’ and punched him in the face,” Lawn said.

Boston Marathon Bombing

Police Chief Wanted to Get Through Marathon Trial Before Retiring

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The timing of Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau’s retirement announcement, coming just weeks after the trial of the Boston Marathon Bomber wrapped up, was no coincidence. Deveau announced last week that he will retire after 14 years as chief and 32 years on the force. “I would have started to think about (retiring) if April 19 (2013) didn’t happen,” Deveau said. That day will loom large in the minds of all Watertown residents, but Deveau had as close a view to what happened as anyone who was not part of the shootout with the Tsarnaev brothers. After the firefight, which included homemade bombs, Deveau was part of the team making decisions during the subsequent manhunt and capture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in a boat on Franklin Street.

Police/Fire

Police Log: Church Broken Into, Paintings Stolen from Home

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests
May 28, 12:30 p.m.: Police stopped a vehicle for having an expired inspection sticker and the officer discovered the driver had an outstanding warrant. A 34-year-old Watertown man was arrested for for a warrant from Woburn District Court for violating a restraining order. May 29, 6:24 p.m.: Employees from Pearle Vision spotted a man taking some eye glasses from the store at the Arsenal Project. They followed him until he was at the Dunkin Donuts in the mall.

Government

Watertown Police Chief Announces He Will Retire This Summer

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Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau will retire this summer, he told the Town Council and others on Thursday. 

Deveau joined the Police Department in 1983 and has been chief since Sept. 4, 2001. His time as the top cop included the dramatic events of April 19, 2013, when Watertown Police officers engaged the Boston Marathon Bombers on the streets of East Watertown in which offices exchanged gunfire and were attacked by homemade bombs. Town Manager Michael Driscoll sent a letter to Town Councilors saying that Deveau had met with him on Wednesday to tell him he planned to retire. Deveau reached out to Councilors, too.

Police/Fire

Police Log: Man Busted for 4th OUI, Man Busted with Heroin

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests
May 19, 9:08 p.m.: Police arrived at a two-vehicle accident on Arlington Street and woman said that she had rear-ended the vehicle ahead of her that had stopped at a red light. When officers spoke to the driver of the car that was hit, he said that the woman was not driving, but rather the man who was driving switched seats after the accident. The officer spoke to the man and his speech was slurred. Field sobriety tests were given an a 37-year-old Watertown man was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs, failing to use care when stopping, unlicensed driving and possession of a Class B drug.

Police/Fire

Watertown Police Department Seeks Accreditation from the State

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The Watertown Police Department will host an assessment team in June as the department seeks to gain accreditation from the state. The Police Department released the following statement:
Chief Edward Deveau is pleased to announce that a team of assessors from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission is scheduled to arrive on June 8th, to begin examining various aspects of the Watertown Police Department’s policies and procedures, operations and facilities. Verification by the Assessment Team that the Department meets the Commission’s standards is part of a voluntary process to gain state Accreditation, a self-initiated evaluation process by which police departments strive to meet and maintain standards that have been established for the profession, by the profession. The Massachusetts Police Accreditation Program consists of 257 mandatory standards as well as 125 optional standards. In order to achieve accreditation status, the Department must meet all applicable mandatory standards as well as 60 percent of the optional standards.