Around Town

Emotional Responses to News of Filming at Site of Watertown Shootout

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News that Watertown that film producers want to shoot a re-enactment of the Watertown Shootout on the same streets where it happened, complete with late night simulated gunshots, was met with an outpouring of emotions from town residents – mostly negative but some strongly backing it. This month, CBS Films has been meeting with residents of Laurel Street about the filming of “Patriots Day,” a film starring Mark Wahlberg which would recreate the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings, including the shootout with the bombers in Watertown. The schedule calls for closing off Laurel Street for a few days, including three nights when the filming would include re-enactments complete with gunfire as late as midnight. Watertown residents reacted on the Watertown News Facebook page, and on the comment section of Monday’s story. Many reactions on Facebook were negative, such as, “Who wants to relive this.

Around Town

CBS Seeks to Shoot Marathon Bombing Film at Scene of Watertown Shootout

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A film production company wants to come to Watertown to recreate the Watertown Shootout when police encountered the Boston Marathon Bombers at the intersection of Dexter Avenue and Laurel Street. 

In early, February, CBS Films contacted some residents in the area of the Watertown Shootout to discuss the production of the film, named “Patriots Day.” The movie will star Boston-native Mark Wahlberg and will be directed by Peter Berg, who also directed “Lone Survivor.” According to the flyer sent to residents on Laurel Street, the movie “tells the story of the days following the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, and the extraordinary men and women involved in bringing the perpetrators to justice.” On Feb. 12, representatives from CBS met with immediate neighbors to the area of the shootout, and the area where they seek to film.

Boston Marathon Bombing

MBTA Officer Dic Donohue, Injured in Watertown, Announces Retirement

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Dic Donohue thanked the first responders who saved his life after he was injured in the Watertown shootout with the Boston Marathon Bombers during his retirement announcement. The MBTA officer – now sergeant – was hit in the leg during the mayhem in East Watertown on April 19, 2013 when Watertown Police and other law enforcement fought it out with the Tsarnaev brothers. Watertown firefighters attended to Donohue even as the scene remained precarious and got him to Mount Auburn Hospital, where he recovered despite losing a massive amount of blood. On Wednesday, Donohue announced the would be retiring from the MTBA Police. He still suffers a great deal of pain, according to the report form WCVB Channel 5.

Around Town

UPDATED: Camera Crews Spotted Around Town for Film on Marathon Bombing

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Crews shooting a documentary on the Boston Marathon Bombings have been spotted in town in the area of the Watertown Shootout. A film company called Break Thru Films is working on the film for HBO. Crews were seen walking around the area of Dexter Avenue and Laurel Street, where the Tsarnaev brothers got into the shootout with Watertown Police, on Thursday. With them were retired Watertown Police Chief Ed Deaveau and retired Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis, according to Eastside resident Bob Erickson. The crews also interviewed residents in the area of the shootout, according to Assistant Town Manager Steve Magoon.

Boston Marathon Bombing

3 Watertown Police Officers Honored for Facing Marathon Bombers

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Several of Watertown’s finest are going to have to make room in their trophy cases, next to their Medal of Valor and Top Cop awards, after receiving the Congressional Badge of Bravery Friday. U.S. Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Representatives Joe Kennedy and Katherine Clark, and U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz were on hand to bestow the medals to Sergeants John MacLellan, Jeffrey Pugliese, and officer Joseph Reynolds, who received the awards during a ceremony at the Watertown Police Station Friday. MacLellan, Pugliese, and Reynolds were three of the seven officers who engaged the Boston Marathon Bombers in a dramatic shootout that left one of them dead, and launched a massive manhunt for the other. Right before he watched the officers receive their medals, Town Manager Michael Driscoll said he has never been prouder in the 38 years he’s worked for the town. “To the men and women of the Watertown Police Department, thank you,” Driscoll said.

Boston Marathon Bombing

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.

Boston Marathon Bombing

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 …”

Around Town

HBO Production Seeks Residents’ Videos from Watertown Shootout, Manhunt

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You can help contribute to a feature-length documentary film about the Boston Marathon Bombings and the shootout and manhunt in Watertown. 

Break Thru Films will produce the documentary, known right now as the Boston Project, for HBO and seeks personal stories and footage taken by residents. “The film will be a sensitive and in-depth exploration into the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings and the subsequent Watertown shootings, told through personal stories of the survivors and citizens of Boston,” said the announcement from Break Thru Films.

Filmmakers are working closely with local universities, running clubs, churches and other local groups, along with the Boston Globe. They hope to find unseen footage from the Marathon, during the bombing at the finish line, the days after the bombing and, of course, the Watertown Shootout, manhunt, lockdown and capture of the Boston Marathon Bombing suspect. The footage and photos can be in many forms.

“If you have any personal footage or artifacts (photos, video, recorded telephone/Skype/FaceTime calls, etc.) taken on personal devices of the Marathon and the 5 days following (set up; the race; bombings; aftermath; lockdown; Police and SWAT house searches, shootings or arrest in Watertown), please contact us at bostonproject@breakthrufilms.org,” the announcement said. Break Thru Films Producers Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg have worked on award winning and nominated films including “Joan Rivers – A Piece of Work” (U.S. Documentary Prize for Best Editing at the Sundance Film Festival), “Knuckleball!”