Patrick Signs Bill to Appoint Sean Collier to Somerville Police Department
Sean Collier, who authorities say was killed by the Boston Marathon Bombing suspects, will soon realize his dream of becoming a Somerville police officer. Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill Tuesday allowing the city of Somerville to appoint Collier postumously to the city’s police force, according to WHDH. Collier, a Somerville resident, was serving as an MIT police officer when, on April 18, he was allegedly shot to death by the suspects in the Boston Marathon Bombing. Jackie Rossetti, a spokesperson for the city of Somerville, said Tuesday afternoon the city was planning a ceremony for Collier’s appointment to the Somerville Police Department, but no date had been set. She said the city was in the process of working with Collier’s family to make those plans. According to WHDH, Somerville State. Sen. Patricia Jehlen, who co-sponsored the home rule petition allowing the postumous appointment, said, “While nothing we do can bring Collier back, this posthumous appointment is a meaningful way to honor his memory and brave service.” Somerville State. Rep. Denise Provost also co-sponsored the bill, according to WHDH. Collier was working toward becoming a Somerville police officer, and he would have been sworn onto the force on June 3. Read the WHDH article here. More Police, Residents Attend Officer Sean Collier’s Wake Thousands Mourn Sean Collier at MIT Bill to Honor Sean Collier Coming Closer to Reality SOUTH END PATCH: Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Updates South End Patch
Categories: Arrests Tags: Appoint, Bill, Collier, department, patrick, Police, Sean, Signs, Somerville
Live Blog: Memorial Service for Sean Collier Begins at Noon
Sean Collier will be remembered at an MIT memorial service at noon on Wednesday. Collier, who was killed Thursday, was laid to rest on Tuesday morning. Police believe the Boston Marathon bombing suspects shot Collier as he responded to an unrelated robbery. Patch will provide updates throughout the memorial service. We welcome you to add your condolences and memories of Sean in the chat above once the live chat begins. 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
Sean Collier’s Wake Turns Out Large Police Crowd
They call it the thin blue line. But there was nothing thin about the amount of support shown for a fallen brother on Monday afternoon in Stoneham. A long line of police officers from across the region attended the wake of Massachusetts Institute of Technology Police Officer Sean Collier Monday at the Anderson-Bryant Funeral Home on Common Street. Collier was killed in the line of duty on Thursday, April 17, allegedly by the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing. Over 1,000 residents showed their support on Saturday during a vigil in Wilmington. A public memorial service is scheduled for Wednesday at 12 p.m. in Cambridge. According to reports Vice President Joe Biden will be among those in attendance. South End Patch
‘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 […]