Police/Fire

Residents Can Create Profile that Will Help First Responders

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Residents can create a “safety profile” with information about themselves and their household that could be useful to first responders in an emergency. The profiles are part of Smart911, national public safety service, which has been added to the town’s existing 9-1-1 emergency services. When a resident calls 911, their profile will be displayed sothe 9-1-1 call-taker will have a better understanding of the situation and faster emergency response. “At a time when seconds count, being able to have the information we need to send the correct response teams to the correct location during an emergency will save time and ultimately lives,” said Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau. “The safety of our community is top priority and this is a way in which we can utilize technology in order to ensure we are offering the highest level of protection to all of our residents.”

Residents can create their Safety Profile online at www.smart911.com for their household that includes any information they want 9-1-1 and response teams to have in the event of an emergency.

Government

LETTER: Fire Union President Reacts to Council Rejecting Contract

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As President of the Watertown Firefighters Union, Local 1347, I write today to express my and my membership’s extreme disappointment with the Town Council’s decision to reject the Joint Labor Management Committee’s (JLMC) decision relative to the collective bargaining agreement between the Local and the Town. The tripartite JLMC panel, comprised of a management representative, a labor representative and a neutral arbitrator is empowered by Chapter 589 of the Acts of 1987 to resolve disputes between public safety employees (who by statute lack the ability to go on strike like all the other unions) and cities/towns that have remained unresolved for unreasonable periods of time. In this case, after nearly 6 fruitless years of bargaining, mediation and arbitration the JLMC, after reviewing supportive documentation from both parties and hearing their testimony rendered their decision known as an “award” in late October 2014. The award included the accepted proposals from both parties that this neutral panel believed to fairly represent the wants and needs of the parties collectively. Not all of either parties’ proposals were accepted by the panel.

Charity

Whooley Foundation Provides Gifts for Watertown Kids in Need

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Each year, just before Christmas, the Community Room at the Watertown Police Station fills with toys destined for families struggling during the holiday season. The effort is the continuation of the work of the late-Sgt. John “Sonny” Whooley – a Watertown Police officer who made it his mission to make the children in the community a little happier, said Det. David Collins, who oversees the drive these days. Members of the Watertown Police and Fire departments do much of the work.

Police/Fire

Police Log: Target Catches Serial Shoplifters, Employee Caught Stealing Cash

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests

Dec. 9, 3:30 p.m.: Target security spotted three people who had been in the store the day before and took items and got away before they could stop them. They suspected the three were the same people who had been scamming Target stores around the Boston area. The were seen taking clothes and video games and went to the back of the store where they placed them into target shopping bags.

Police/Fire

Man Robbed On Street in Watertown Square

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A man reported being robbed by a stranger who approached him on the street. The man was outside the Watertown Boy’s & Girl’s Club on Whites Avenue at about 7:19 a.m. on Dec. 8 getting ready to open up the club for the swim team when a car pulled up, said Watertown Police Lt. Michael Lawn. “The car parked a few spaces in front of his and a male walked in his direction and passed him,” Lawn said. “He turned around and confronted him and said ‘Give me your wallet and your money.'”

The man told the suspect that he only had $3, and gave it to the suspect.

Boston Marathon Bombing

Report Finds 2nd Friendly Fire Incident in Search for Bombing Suspects

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A second incident where police officers mistakenly fired on other law enforcement in Watertown during the search for the Boston Marathon Bombing suspects has been detailed in a report looking at the response to the bombings. WCVB Channel 5 Investigates reported this week that an undercover State Police SUV had its back window shot out and one of the bullets narrowly missed a State Police lieutenant. Several shots were fired, according to the report by Kathy Curran, in the incident which took place on Adams Street after an erroneous report that bombing suspect Dzokhar Tsarnaev had stolen a State Police SUV, according to the report. In the first shootout, MBTA Police Officer Dic Donohue was hit by friendly fire as officers tried to stop Tsarnaev from driving away from the area of Dexter Avenue and Laurel Street. See the entire Channel 5 report by clicking here.

Government

Town Council Rejects Watertown Firefighters Contract

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Despite pleas from firefighters to end the long standing contract dispute and an award decided by a neutral arbitrator the Town Council rejected the Watertown Firefighters contract on Tuesday. Members of Local 1347 have worked for more than five years without a contract. When negotiations failed, the town and the union went to mediation and finally they took the process to a state arbitrator. The arbitrator’s award came out in October, and called for $2.74 million in back pay for raises, longevity payment and for EMT qualifications. The firefighters had plenty of backing from the Watertown Fire Department – which filled the room at Town Hall, along with labor leaders from the local, state and national level.