Police/Fire

Watertown Police Chief Has Some Regrets About Handling of Capture of Bomber

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Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau told the Boston Globe about some of the regrets he had about how the capture of Boston Marathon Bomber Dzhokar Tsarnaev was handled in April 2013. Deveau said that many of the officers that responded after the shootout got in the way. He also said most were not trained in SWAT tactics, which led to some confusion during the capture of Tsarnaev in the boat on Franklin Street, reports the Globe’s Jaclyn Reiss. When the call went out that the suspect was in the boat, there was confusion with who was in charge of what, Deveau said. Also, many did not have proper equipment for such a tactical situation.

Police/Fire

Watertown Police Chief Reacts to Tsarnaev’s Apology

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Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau said he was disappointed by the apology of convicted Boston Marathon Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, adding that his words “rang hollow.” Tsarnaev finally spoke publicly during the sentencing hearing on Wednesday in Boston Federal Court. He was officially sentenced to death by Federal Court Judge George O’Toole who said “Tsarnaev he had embraced a cruel God, heeded the jihadist ‘siren song’ and engaged in “monstrous self-deception” to carry out the bombings,” according to CNN. In his statement Tsarnaev apologized and admitted to carrying out the bombing. He also referred to how he became award of the victims.

“I am sorry for the lives that I’ve taken, for the suffering that I’ve caused you, for the damage that I’ve done — irreparable damage …”

Police/Fire

MBTA Officer Hurt in Watertown Shootout Returns to Duty

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Sergeant Donohue pic.twitter.com/I6dRyG2uOt
— MBTA Transit Police (@MBTATransitPD) May 15, 2015
MBTA Police Officer Dic Donohue almost lost his life during the shootout in Watertown with the Boston Marathon Bombing suspects, but after a long recovery he returned to duty this week, and got promoted! The MBTA Police held a promotion ceremony this week, and Donohue told WHDH Channel 7 that he is glad to be back on duty. See more by clicking here. Donohue also commented this week on the jury’s decision to give the death penalty to convicted Marathon Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. “Just over two years after the events that impacted us as a community and a nation, we can finally close this chapter in our lives.

Boston Marathon Bombing

Jury Finds Tsarnaev Guilty on All Counts in the Marathon Bombing Trial

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The jury in the Boston Marathon Bombing case found Dzhokhar Tsarnaev guilty on all 30 counts, including being responsible for the deaths of those killed at the finish line and of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier and setting off bombs in Watertown. The verdict was read at Boston Federal Court on Wednesday afternoon, and jury will now move on to the sentencing phase of the trial. Tsarnaev faces the death penalty for some of the counts. Tsarnaev was found guilty of five counts of using of a weapon of mass destruction, for setting off the two pressure cooker bombs at the marathon and three pipe bombs during the shootout in Watertown. The jury also found that by setting off the bombs he caused the deaths of Campbell with the first bomb, and caused Richard’s and Lu’s death with the second bomb.

Boston Marathon Bombing

Boston Marathon Bomber Case Goes to the Jury after Closing Arguments

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Jurors in the case against accused Boston Marathon Bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev heard final arguments from attorneys on Monday, and now must decide his fate. 

Prosecutors said the Tsarnaev brothers “were the mujahedeen, and they were bringing their battle to Boston,” according to an account of the court proceedings in the New York Times.  They said Dzhokhar wanted to “punish America for what it was doing to his people,” according to the Times. Tsarnaev’s defense attorney, however, argued that he was an “adolescent” who just followed his older brother Tamerlan into carrying out the bombings at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Tamerlan was killed in the firefight in Watertown after being run over by Dzhokhar, according to the Boston Globe. The jury of seven women and five men, all white, will consider 30 counts against Tsarnaev, one of which is if he used a weapon of mass destruction.

Police/Fire

Watertown’s Day at Trial of Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect

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Nearly two years after the suspected Boston Marathon bombers interrupted a quiet April night in Watertown with gunfire and homemade bombs, the events of April 18 2013 and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s role in them were examined in Federal Court in Boston. On Thursday, jurors in the trial of Tsarnaev saw testimony about the killing of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier by the Dzhokhar and his older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev while Collier sat in his police cruiser in Cambridge. Then the jurors heard from Dun Meng, the owner of the now infamous black Mercedes SUV that was carjacked Tamerlan. He rode in the vehicle for 20-30 minutes, eventually pulling over on a street in Watertown where another car pulled up behind him and loaded something in his SUV. Meng said the other man was Dzhokhar.

Police/Fire

Marathon Bombing Trial Begins, Plea Deal Not Reached

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The trial of the accused Boston Marathon Bomber began Monday after attorneys failed to come to a plea agreement and Federal judges ruled the trial should go on in Boston. During the first few days of the week, a pool of 1,200 potential jurors from around Eastern Massachusetts will head to the Boston Federal Court to take part in the jury selection process, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The jurors will consider the fate of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the suspects in the bombing at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon that killed three. He and his older brother Tamerlan also are suspects in the killing of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier. They were stopped in Watertown after a shootout with Watertown Police and law enforcement from other departments on April 19, 2013.

Police/Fire

Judge Rejects Marathon Bombing Suspect’s Request to Move Trial

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The trial of Boston Marathon Bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsaranaev will take place in Boston after a judge denied his lawyers’ request to move the trial out of state. U.S. District Court Judge George O’Toole Jr. announced his decision on Wednesday. The ruling means jury selection will begin on Monday, according to an article on WBUR’s website. Tsarnaev’s lawyers argued that their client could not a fair trial in Massachusetts because of the heavy media coverage of the bombing, search for suspects and capture of Tsarnaev. Read more here: http://www.wbur.org/2014/12/31/judge-denies-to-move-delay-tsarnaev-trial