Government

Watertown Police Chief Announces He Will Retire This Summer

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Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau will retire this summer, he told the Town Council and others on Thursday. 

Deveau joined the Police Department in 1983 and has been chief since Sept. 4, 2001. His time as the top cop included the dramatic events of April 19, 2013, when Watertown Police officers engaged the Boston Marathon Bombers on the streets of East Watertown in which offices exchanged gunfire and were attacked by homemade bombs. Town Manager Michael Driscoll sent a letter to Town Councilors saying that Deveau had met with him on Wednesday to tell him he planned to retire. Deveau reached out to Councilors, too.

Police/Fire

Police Log: Man Busted for 4th OUI, Man Busted with Heroin

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests
May 19, 9:08 p.m.: Police arrived at a two-vehicle accident on Arlington Street and woman said that she had rear-ended the vehicle ahead of her that had stopped at a red light. When officers spoke to the driver of the car that was hit, he said that the woman was not driving, but rather the man who was driving switched seats after the accident. The officer spoke to the man and his speech was slurred. Field sobriety tests were given an a 37-year-old Watertown man was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs, failing to use care when stopping, unlicensed driving and possession of a Class B drug.

Police/Fire

Watertown Police Department Seeks Accreditation from the State

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The Watertown Police Department will host an assessment team in June as the department seeks to gain accreditation from the state. The Police Department released the following statement:
Chief Edward Deveau is pleased to announce that a team of assessors from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission is scheduled to arrive on June 8th, to begin examining various aspects of the Watertown Police Department’s policies and procedures, operations and facilities. Verification by the Assessment Team that the Department meets the Commission’s standards is part of a voluntary process to gain state Accreditation, a self-initiated evaluation process by which police departments strive to meet and maintain standards that have been established for the profession, by the profession. The Massachusetts Police Accreditation Program consists of 257 mandatory standards as well as 125 optional standards. In order to achieve accreditation status, the Department must meet all applicable mandatory standards as well as 60 percent of the optional standards.

Police/Fire

Police Log: Three Youths Broke into a School Bus, Gun Found in Hotel Room

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests
May 4, 1:15 p.m.: Police served a warrant on a 26-year-old Watertown man from Waltham District Court for animal cruelty. May 4, 2:13 p.m.: A shoplifter was caught concealing $405 worth of merchandise at Target. The 56-year-old Falmouth woman was arrested on a charge of shoplifting. May 4, 9:21 p.m.: An officer patrolling on Elm Street by Arlington Street ran the registration of a vehicle and found the registered owner had an outstanding warrant.

Boston Marathon Bombing

With Marthon Bombing Trial Over, Police Can Talk About Shootout

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Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau said he can finally talk publicly about the shootout with the Boston Marathon Bombing suspects, and he gave the Town Council some details. 

Monday night, Deveau talked about the shootout during the Police Department’s budget hearing in front of the Council. When asked by Councilor Aaron Dushku about the lessons learned from the incident in April 2013, Deveau said his officers have changed some of their training in reaction to the incident. As an example, the Watertown Police officers now train more with the rifles in their patrol cruisers. “One example, one of the things – I’d say this was was my responsibility, it was  my fault – we have patrol rifles in vehicle. When we got those I told the officers, ‘we’re putting them in but don’t touch them unless you need them.

Police/Fire

Police Log: Employee Caught Stealing from Business and More

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests
April 27, 9:58 p.m.: Security at the Watertown Street Stop & Shop spotted a man put several items into a shopping cart and walk toward the entrance. He was stopped and had $598.78 worth of groceries. The 25-year-old Newton man was arrested for larceny over $250. April 28, 3:13 p.m.: A woman was spotted putting several items of clothes into her pocketbook and more items between her pocketbook and her body.

Police/Fire

Police Log: Man Arrested for OUI and Leaving Scene of Accident

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests
April 24, 6:26 a.m.: Police served a warrant from Middlesex Juvenile Court on a 14-year-old boy from Watertown for threatening to commit a crime. April 26, 11:37 p.m.: A Grandview Avenue heard a crash and looked out to see a black sedan leaving the are after hitting a parked car. Police found the driver side of the parked car heavily damaged. Several minutes later a car was found in a driveway on King Street with heavy passenger side damage and the engine was still warm.

Police/Fire

WBUR Series Tells the Story of a Former Watertown Cop Murdered in Her Home

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A two-part story about the murder of a former Watertown Police officer whose murder remains unsolved, will air on WBUR 90.9 FM on Monday and Tuesday. Gail Miles was Watertown’s first, black female officer and she was killed under mysterious circumstances in December 2011 in her Roxbury home. The killing remains unsolved. Her career in Watertown was not always a smooth one, as she sued the department claiming she had been the victim of discrimination. In late 2001, Miles received $150,000 in a settlement out of court, and the settlement contained a stipulation that Watertown Police complete a mandatory officer training program aimed at preventing sexual and racial harassment, according to a Boston Globe report at the time of her death.