‘Rough Days Ahead’ as Region, Nation Grieve Officer Sean Collier

Thursday night was the final shift for Sean Collier. But the waning moments of the 26-year-old’s life will never be forgotten. “His life was short,” said Somerville Deputy Police Chief Paul Upton. “But his impact was great.” The Somerville resident and Wilmington native was identified on Friday as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Police Officer shot and killed on Thursday in his police car. His death led to the manhunt for two Boston Marathon bombing suspects, one who was killed and a second who was captured hiding in a boat behind a Watertown home. But his death also united communities from throughout Massachusetts and far beyond as residents remember a man who heroically lost his life during a week of horror following Monday’s Boston Marathon bombings. A Dream Nearly Fulfilled Everything Collier did in his professional life was with one goal in mind – to protect and serve. “His dream was to become a police officer,” said Upton, who supervised Collier in Somerville. “He wanted to be out there helping community, enforcing the law and serving the people. That was his mission and he absolutely loved it.” Collier worked as an auxiliary police officer for the Somerville Police Department from 2006 until 2009. He volunteered hundreds of hours monitoring playgrounds, schools and special events. While serving in that role, Collier also applied for and was chosen for a job in the department as a records clerk. Quickly, his colleagues realized his talent for working with computers. Collier was selected to create the Somerville Police Department’s website, which is still used today. He also got the department’s Facebook and Twitter pages up and running and assisted the Information Technology officer with computer related issues. But that wasn’t enough for Collier. He also asked to self-sponsor himself in the Police Academy so that when a job opening came up in law enforcement, he could be selected without having to then complete academy training. The department backed him in his request, and Collier scored near the top of his class. In January 2012, Collier was offered the position at MIT and developed a sparkling reputation within his new department. But he remained on the radar within the Somerville Police Department. In June of this year, Upton said the town planned to offer Collier a full-time position as a Somerville police officer. Heroic in Death When Collier suited up for duty on Thursday night, it was impossible for him to know that it would be his final patrol. Sean Collier was ambushed in his police cruiser by two men who were the center of a manhunt that terrorized […]

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