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.

Police/Fire

Police Log: Three Youths Broke into a School Bus, Gun Found in Hotel Room

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests
May 4, 1:15 p.m.: Police served a warrant on a 26-year-old Watertown man from Waltham District Court for animal cruelty. May 4, 2:13 p.m.: A shoplifter was caught concealing $405 worth of merchandise at Target. The 56-year-old Falmouth woman was arrested on a charge of shoplifting. May 4, 9:21 p.m.: An officer patrolling on Elm Street by Arlington Street ran the registration of a vehicle and found the registered owner had an outstanding warrant.

Government

Fire Chief: Contract is Biggest Obstacle to Advanced Ambulance Service

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One of the goals of the Watertown Fire Department is to upgrade to advanced life support (ALS) ambulance service, but to do so Fire Chief Mario Orangio said the town will have to settle the contract with the firefighters union. Orangio presented his budget to the Town Council Wednesday night. Watertown has eight certified paramedics in the department. The Fire Department’s budget of $8.8 million includes $95,000 for equipment required to start-up an ALS service ambulance. Currently Watertown uses an outside ambulance service for ALS service, and the Fire Department provides basic life support (BLS) services.

Boston Marathon Bombing

With Marthon Bombing Trial Over, Police Can Talk About Shootout

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Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau said he can finally talk publicly about the shootout with the Boston Marathon Bombing suspects, and he gave the Town Council some details. 

Monday night, Deveau talked about the shootout during the Police Department’s budget hearing in front of the Council. When asked by Councilor Aaron Dushku about the lessons learned from the incident in April 2013, Deveau said his officers have changed some of their training in reaction to the incident. As an example, the Watertown Police officers now train more with the rifles in their patrol cruisers. “One example, one of the things – I’d say this was was my responsibility, it was  my fault – we have patrol rifles in vehicle. When we got those I told the officers, ‘we’re putting them in but don’t touch them unless you need them.