South End Accident Sends Police Officer, Motorist, to Hospital
Two people were injured in a car accident between a police cruiser and another vehicle in the South End on Tuesday night. South End Patch News
Police: Two Women Charged with Assault and Battery on a Police Officer
Two women were arrested on the Boston Medical Center campus and charged with assaulting a police officer. Boston Medical Center security officers responded to a report of a drug deal in front of the Yawkee Building at 850 Harrison Avenue at abo South End Patch News
Police: Man Fights Taxi Driver, Police Officer on Tremont Street
The following information was supplied by the Boston Police Department. Charges listed do not indicate convictions. A California man was arrested in the South End on Saturday for allegedly fighting both a taxi driver and a police officer. A taxi driver flagged down an officer at about 2:38 a.m. on June 15, claiming that a customer had punched him in the head after he told the man to get out of the cab. The cab driver identified the suspect as a man who was standing on the corner of Tremont Street and Hanson Street, police said. An officer then approached the suspect and asked him what had happened. Police said the man appeared to be intoxicated. The suspect then asked the officer for a lighter. When the officer asked again what had happened, the suspect turned and walked away. When the officer followed and attempted to grab the suspect by the arm, the suspect reportedly tried to break free by striking the officer’s forearm and kicking him in the shins, police said. According to the report, the suspect then threw a punch to the officer’s chest. The officer then took the suspect to the ground, where the two struggled until more officers arrived. Officers arrested Miguel Aguirre of 515 Tullock Street, Bloomington, CA and charged him with assault and battery, resisting arrest, and assault and battery on an officer. SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
MIT Officer Collier Laid to Rest in Peabody
More than 30 American flags, veterans from across Massachusetts and Connecticut, Peabody police officers and state troopers solemnly greeted the motorcade bearing the body of Sean Collier as it arrived in Peabody this afternoon. Collier, a 26-year-old MIT police officer who was allegedly shot and killed by the two Boston Marathon bombing suspects on April 18, was laid to rest at Puritan Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery. The motorcade, which included three departments Collier was affiliated with — MIT, Cambridge and Somerville, accompanied Collier’s family from the site of a memorial service at MIT earlier today. That service was attended by thousands of police officers and Vice President Joe Biden. Peabody police were not involved in the graveside service, but provided security for the site, along with state and federal agents. And security was tight — only authorized visitors or members of the burial party were allowed in during the duration of the service. Cambridge, Somerville and MIT police were part of the private burial service with family members. Officers on security and traffic detail said the Secret Service were deployed in Cambridge for Biden’s visit, but not present in Peabody. Due to the heightened state of security in the Boston area, the entire cemetery was swept for any explosives prior to the burial service. Police officers on security detail outside the cemetery said they did not know why Puritan Lawn was chosen as Collier’s burial site. Collier, a Salem State graduate, was a Wilmington native and a Somerville resident at the time of his death. He did work for a time as a security officer at the Northshore Mall, according to local police. Peabody Police Capt. Joe Berardino said all visitors to the cemetery during the day were escorted at all times by officers. At approximately 2:30 p.m., about 20 mintues before the motorcade arrived, visitors were asked to leave for an hour for security reasons. As for the flag-waving civilians standing at attention, they were all members of the Patriot Guard Riders, a nationwide volunteer organization that seeks to support the families of fallen soldiers and officers and help shield them from protesters, specifically those from the Westboro Baptist Church. Kevin Ridley, a military veteran from Medfield, said many of the Guard are Vietnam veterans, who experienced a great deal of animosity when they returned home. They hope to shield today’s veterans from that. “We wanted to make sure what happened to us, doesn’t happen to them,” he said. South End Patch
Somber Funeral Held in Stoneham for Officer Sean Collier
The outpouring of support for slain Massachusetts Institute of Technology Police Officer Sean Collier continued on Tuesday morning at Saint Patrick’s Parish in Stoneham as police officers and loved ones filed into the church to pay their respects during a private funeral. Collier’s wake was held on Monday at a nearby funeral home, with officers forming a long line then as well to say goodbye to their fellow officer. Support for Collier will continue on Wednesday at MIT when a larger memorial service will take place. According to reports, Vice President Joe Biden will be in attendance during the service, which begins at 12 p.m. South End Patch
Police, Residents Attend Officer Sean Collier’s Wake
Flags at half-staff, a police caravan leading a hearse and the Patriot Guard Riders lining Main Street in Red, White and Blue. A long, almost silent trail of mourners waiting to enter a local funeral home and a row of TV news trucks. Bystanders and passersby no longer have to ask, “What happened?” “What’s going on?” They know. It’s a scene that’s become all too familiar – Sunday in Medford, Monday in Stoneham and at Boston University and soon in Dorchester. On Monday in Stoneham, police paid respects to one of their own, 27-year-old Sean Collier, an officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who was shot and killed Thursday night in his police car. Hundreds of others also attended the wake for Collier, a Wilmington native and Somerville resident, at the Anderson-Bryant Funeral Home on Common Street. The wake was private. A public memorial ceremony is scheduled for noon Wednesday, April 24, at MIT’s Briggs Field (270 Vassar St., Cambridge). Collier’s death led to the manhunt for the two Boston Marathon bombing suspects, one of whom was killed in Watertown. The other was captured hiding in a boat behind a home there and was recently charged. Police believe the suspects, brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, respectively, killed Collier before fleeing. The bombing at the marathon killed three more, 29-year-old Medford native Krystle Campbell, Lu Lingzi, a 23-year-old BU graduate student from China, and 8-year-old Martin Richard of Dorchester, and injured nearly 200 others. More than 1,000 locals remembered Collier, a 2004 Wilmington High School graduate, Saturday night in a vigil at Wilmington Town Common. At the vigil, Collier’s brother, Andrew, asked residents to keep Collier in their hearts. “Sean will continue to live on and his legacy will continue to live on,” he said. South End Patch
Brother of Injured MBTA Officer Releases Statement
The brother of Winchester native Richard “Dic” Donohue Jr., the MBTA Transit Police officer injured during a Thursday night shoot-out with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, has released a statement, according to a Tufts Medical Center press statement. In the statement, Edward Donohue, a Winchester Police officer, said: “Dic still has a long road to go before we can safely say he has made it out of the woods. We are proud of his actions and extremely grateful for those courageous officers and EMTs on scene who braved gunfire and explosives to render critical care to Dic that has brought us to this point. The Mount Auburn Hospital doctors and nurses have performed extraordinarily well and their staff has been incredible. This week has been difficult for everyone and on behalf of the extended Donohue family, we would like to thank all of the citizens in the surrounding communities for cooperating with police efforts in the search for the suspects. We would also like to thank all of the law enforcement agencies who have worked tirelessly to bring justice to our country. Lastly, we keep in our prayers all those who have been affected by the tragedies this past week, especially Sean Collier, Dic’s friend and academy mate.” The statement was sent on behalf of the Donohue family by Tufts Medical Center. South End Patch
Crowd at Vigil for Late Officer Vows to be ‘Collier Strong’
On Saturday night, residents said goodbye to one of their own and police officers from across the state saluted the bravery of a member of the thin blue line who made the ultimate sacrifice. Slain Massachusetts Institute of Technology Police Officer Sean Collier’s body was brought down Church Street past thousands who lined the street surrounding Wilmington Town Common and waved American flags as a part of an emotional goodbye. Collier, a Wilmington native and Somerville resident, was honored during a candlelight vigil following the procession. Members of the Collier family attended the event, and sobbed at times as their loved one was recalled. “(Sean) is such an amazing man. A better man than I will ever be. And he was taken from us too early,” said Sean’s brother, Andrew Collier. “Sean is not in that casket. Sean will continue to live on and his legacy will continue to live on. You all will remember Sean, you will all talk about that time the police officer was tragically killed. And you will remember that and continue to do good. And because of that these terrorists will never win. They will never break down the United States, they will never break down Boston and they will never break down Wilmington.” South End Patch
Slain Officer Had The Qualities of ‘An Ideal Police Officer’
More than 5,000 residents, friends and law enforcement personnel from throughout Eastern Massachusetts packed the Wilmington Town Common for a candlelight vigil Saturday night to bid farewell and say thank you to a hometown hero. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Police Officer Sean Collier, a 2004 graduate of Wilmington High School, was gunned down as he sat in his cruiser Thursday night on a Cambridge Street, allegedly by brothers Tamerlan and Dzokhar Tsarnaev, the same men investigators believe are responsible for the fatal bombing attack at Monday’s Boston Marathon. Before the start of Saturday’s vigil, a hearse carrying Collier’s body drove down Church Street, shut down to traffic during the ceremony. The road was lined with police officers at attention on one side and residents cheering and waving American flags on the other. Family members, colleagues, friends and town officials shared their grief during the vigil. But the grief didn’t manifest as tears but rather in a steely resolve to continue the legacy Collier established during his short life and to ensure that his death would not be forgotten. MIT Campus Police Chief John DiFava, himself a Wilmington resident, described a young man who was on his way to living out a drama he’d had for many years. “You have those few (cops) who were born to be police officers and Sean was one of those few,” said DiFava. “Not only that but he was one of the few … to display its finest qualities. In the 16 months he was with us, he left a legacy that no one will soon forget. He left us with an understanding of what it means to be an ideal police officer.” But DiFava said Collier’s humanity ran much deeper than his work as a police officer. The chief said he had received a email from Collier three weeks earlier, asking for permisson to serve on the board of directors at a local homeless shelter. “Those people in the street. The people we cross the street to avoid. Those are the people he wanted to help,” said DiFava. Collier was in his final days with MIT at the time of his death. On June 3, he was scheduled to be sworn in as a full-time police officer with the Somerville Police Department, fulfilling a dream, according to Somerville Deputy Chief Michael Cabral. Collier’s death has struck Cabral particularly hard. During his remarks at the vigil, he described Collier interning for the SPD and how he helped get Collier a seat in the Police Academy — a seat Collier paid for himself. “Everything he did in his life, he did toward becoming a police officer,” […]
‘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 […]