Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/tag/watertown-police/page/42/)
Watertown Police Sgt. Jeff Pugliese, one of the officers who took on the Boston Marathon bombers in the Watertown Shootout, recently spoke with the Rotary Club of Watertown. Pugliese is a 37 year veteran of the Watertown Police Department. He shared some of the terrifying and horrific details from that night and gave Rotary members more insight into the event.
A man saying he was from the utility company tried to gain access to an elderly woman’s home in a suspected scam. A Beechwood Avenue resident reported an unknown male came to her door claiming he was from a utility company. He said that they would be shutting down the electricity in the area for three days, so he wanted to set up a generator in her back yard, according to Watertown Police Lt. James O’Connor. “He said he would have to have access to the interior of her house and her backyard,” O’Connor said. The woman said he also asked how her “hubby” was doing?
A woman reported being followed by a stranger on her run around Watertown, and he approached her two separate times, according to police. A couple driving through Coolidge Square stopped a police officer and a 35-year-old woman told the officer she was followed by a man just about 15 minutes earlier, said Watertown Police Lt. James O’Connor. “She was out on Aug. 25 about 6:30 p.m. running down Common Street toward Watertown Square,” O’Connor said. “She got the feeling she was being followed and she stopped and turned around and saw the same man stopping and starting to walk.”
Like something you would see on a television show, a Watertown gas station was robbed when someone cut through a wall and stole money from the office safe. On July 25 at 7:15 a.m., an employee of AAA Auto Service on Main Street discovered the safe in the gas station’s office was forced open. An undisclosed amount of money was taken, said Watertown Police Lt. James O’Connor. “Sometime during the overnight hours someone went into the bathroom – the door of was left unlocked,” O’Connor said. “The person went in an chiseled through the cement block wall, which led to the office where the safe was.”
The Watertown Police Department is pleased to announce that Police Chief Michael Lawn attended a 21st Century Policing Briefing in Washington, D.C., where President Barack Obama made a guest appearance, to talk about the future of policing. The White House hosted the fourth in a series of meetings since June for law enforcement officials focused on implementing the recommendations set forth by the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing on July 18. “My hope is that it’s been useful in giving you some tools and best practices to give you a sense of how departments on the cutting-edge are using data to train officers and engage with the community,” President Obama said at the event. “We also are hopefully hearing from you about what you’ve learned in your experience works and doesn’t work, and where the federal government can partner with your departments and state and local law enforcement officers across the country to do even better.” More than 150 law enforcement officials were in attendance at the event last week.
Some Police Departments in America have had some difficult and testing times recently, but Thursday evening a group of about 30 people came out to an event to support the Watertown Police Department in their efforts to avoid troubles facing other departments. The ceremony was held in the evening sun on the plaza next to Town Hall. Organizer Marilyn Petitto Devaney said that she abhors the killing of black men by police, but added that for each bad police officer, there are millions of good ones, including those in Watertown. “We are here for only one purpose – to collectively say thank you to our Watertown Police officers, and say that we support them,” Petitto Devaney said.
Watertown Police Chief Michael Lawn remembered the five officers killed in Dallas by a man saying he was retaliating for recent killing of black men by police in Minnesota and Louisiana.
The Watertown Police will put on a Casino Night for a good cause this fall, with the proceeds going to a charity that helps the families of children fighting cancer. On Friday, Sept. 16, 2016 from 7 p.m. to midnight, a Casino Night will be held at American Legion Post 440 in Newton. Proceeds benefit Cops for Kids with Cancer, which provides thousands of dollars to families to help pay for the costs that insurance does not cover when a child undergoes cancer treatment. Last year, a the charity presented a Watertown family with a $5,000 check to help them out as their son underwent treatment for a rare form of leukemia.
In the wake of the recent violence against police officers in the United States a group of residents is organizing a rally to show support for Watertown Police Officers.
The event will be a non-political gathering for residents to show support for the Watertown Police, said one of the organizers, Marilyn Petitto Devaney, a former Town Councilor and current Governor’s Councilor. “There will be no political speeches – it will be a low key, non-political gathering of residents showing support for our Watertown Police,” Petitto Devaney said. “With the violence occurring across our country we need to thank our Watertown Police.” The rally will be held Thursday, July 14 at 5:30 p.m. next to Town Hall.