Around Town

Former Watertown Police Chief Honored for Work After Marathon Bombings

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Former Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau received an award for his work after the Boston Marathon Bombings. Here he spoke with the Town Council. Former Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau received an award from the Heather Abbott Foundation for his work after the Boston Marathon Bombings in 2013. Deveau received the Helping Hand award at a banquet on Sunday hosted by the foundation. The award is presented “to somebody who has made a big impact on the foundation.”

The Heather Abbott Foundation helps provide customized prostheses to those who have suffered limb loss through traumatic circumstances, according to its website.

Boston Marathon Bombing

In Aftermath of Watertown Shootout, Police Created Group to Help Officers Deal with on the Job Stress

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Thursday, April 19, 2018, marked the fifth anniversary of the day that Watertown Police faced the Boston Marathon Bombers in a shootout on the streets of East Watertown, but at the Watertown Police Station there was little fanfare to mark the day. 

“It’s another day at work, here,” said Police Chief Michael Lawn, who added that officers were treated to breakfast by H & K Insurance. The department’s roster of uniformed personnel in 2018 includes all the officers involved in the shootout five years ago, Lawn said, despite the fact that they faced suspects armed with guns and pressure-cooker bombs in action that lasted about eight minutes. Nationally, officers involved in shooting while on duty have a much higher rate of leaving the job, but Watertown has managed to beat the odds. “Why? Who’s to say?”

Boston Marathon Bombing

OBIT: David Henneberry, Man Who Discovered Marathon Bomber in His Boat

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David Henneberry, the man who ended the manhunt for one of the Boston Marathon Bombers, died on Sept. 27, 2017, according to the obituary on Legacy.com. Henneberry found Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in his boat, which was parked at his Franklin Street home the day following the shootout at the intersection of Laurel Street and Dexter Avenue. He noticed something strange about his boat when he went out for a smoke shortly after the “shelter in place” order was lifted. He was the husband to the late Elizabeth (Bartlett) Henneberry, and had two step daughters and had a brother, four grand children and a great grandchild.

Boston Marathon

Watertown Woman Ran Toward Danger at 2013 Marathon, Event Still Inspires Her

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Last month, Kelsey Barry ran the Boston Marathon for the fourth time. The 28-year-old Watertown resident also ran in 2013, and it profoundly changed her life. Barry was about five minutes from finishing the Marathon in 2013 when she and other runners came to a sudden stop. At first police and spectators could not provide any information, but a few minutes later word spread that a first b0mb had gone off near the finish line. Unlike others, however, Barry did not flee from the danger.

Around Town

Red Cross Hosting 3 Blood Drives as Boston Marathon Bombing Memorials

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The American Red Cross will join community leaders to host three blood drives on April 15 in honor of the lives changed by the Boston Marathon bombings and to pay tribute to the strength and resilience shown by so many following the attacks. The drives will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 15 at Watertown High School, 50 Columbia St., Watertown; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Sheraton Boston Hotel, 39 Dalton St., Boston; and 2-7 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Stoneham, 1 Church St., Stoneham. In April 2013, the Red Cross sent 600 blood products to Boston area hospitals in response to the Boston Marathon bombings. Volunteers are the only source of blood and platelets for hospital patients in need of transfusions. During National Volunteer Month, the Red Cross encourages eligible blood and platelet donors of all types to donate to help ensure blood products are available to hospital patients in need, as they were to many patients in the aftermath of the attacks in Boston.

Boston Marathon Bombing

REVIEW: ‘Patriots Day’ Movie an Emotional, at Times, Rough Ride

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Like anyone who lived in Watertown during the Boston Marathon Bombings and the aftermath, there was no surprise in how the “Patriots Day” movie turns out, but what was unexpected was the feeling I had leaving the theater with the feelings of April 2013 stirred up by the movie. The film starring Mark Wahlberg chronicles the events of the bombing, the search for the suspects, and the shootout and manhunt in Watertown. It hits theaters in the Boston area Wednesday, Dec. 21, and will play nationwide in January. Director Peter Berg and the makers of Patriots Day said at a press conference last week that they focused on getting the movie right, and making it realistic.

Boston Marathon Bombing

Patriots Day Filmmakers Wanted to ‘Get it Right’ for Survivors, First Responders

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Getting it right was so important to the team behind the Boston Marathon Bombing movie, “Patriots Day,” that it became their motto. Producer and star Mark Wahlberg said he initially was hesitant to take on the task of telling the story of the attacks on his hometown, but knew there were other efforts to capture the story of the Marathon Bombings. He wanted to capture the “strength our community showed and how well we came together,” he said at Thursday’s press conference for the movie. “I’m so damn proud of how my city responded,” he said. He was concerned how the film would be received in Boston but finally got confirmation after Wednesday’s premiere.

Boston Marathon Bombing

Local Reporter Tells Story of Boston Cop Who Died from Injures from the Watertown Shootout

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The puzzling death of a Boston Police officer who was injured during the Watertown Shootout and died suddenly a year later was chronicled by Watertown-based reporter Adam Sennott. Boston Police Officer Dennis O. Simmonds was described as a model police officer, and was one of the officers who responded to the shootout with the Boston Marathon Bombers in Watertown. Though not publicized Simmonds was injured in the shootout. He was honored by the Boston Police and was presented an award from the National Association of Police Organizations by President Obama. A year later he died of what was called a brain aneurism, but an autopsy was not performed.