Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/tag/watertown-police/page/5/)
Former Watertown Police Lt. James O’Connor is pinned as Stoneham Police Chief by his father, James. (Courtesy of Stoneham Police Department)
A former member of the Watertown Police Department has become the Police Chief of the Stoneham Police Department. Watertown-native, and longtime WPD officer James “Jamie” O’Connor was sworn in as the Stoneham Police Chief on Oct. 10. He was a lieutenant when he left Watertown.
The following information was provided by Watertown Families Together:
Young children and their caregivers are invited to a “SAFETY FIRST” event on Oct. 12 at 10 a.m.
The event is at Brigham House Assisted Living Residence, 341 Mt. Auburn St., Watertown. Enjoy:
• Music with Ruth
• A visit with the Watertown Firefighters and Watertown Police. Climb into their vehicles. See what it feels like to help keep Watertown and its residents safe. • A take-home craft
• A treat or two
• Many more surprises
This program is brought to you by a grant from the Marshall Home Fund, Brigham House and Watertown Families Together
Perkins School for the Blind went into lockdown after the school received a threatening phone call on Tuesday morning. The School shifted to shelter in place while the school was searched by Watertown Police, who cleared the school to go back to normal activities at about 2:45 p.m.
The Watertown Police announced on social media that the phone call came in at around 10:45 a.m. and school officials contacted the police. At about 1 p.m. Watertown Police released a statement saying, in part: “We responded and are currently working with school officials to ensure the safety of the students and staff. As a precautionary measure Perkins initiated a lockdown. This is an ongoing investigation, and we will provide additional information as it becomes available.”
St. Stephens Armenian Apostolic Church in East Watertown. (Courtesy of St. Stephen’s Church)
Watertown Police are investigating a suspicious message taped to a sign outside St. Stephen’s Armenian Apostolic Church Monday morning that refers to the region of Artsakh, where Armenians have been under attack in recent days by Azerbaijan.
As he prepares to hire the next Watertown Police Chief, City Manager George Proakis heard the priorities of the members of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee as well as the public on Monday night. The hiring of the Police Chief will follow the Civil Service process, Proakis said, and the first step is running an assessment center, where candidates will be tested on how they perform in real world situations. The assessment center is scheduled to take place in October, Proakis said, which means a new chief should be hired this fall. Jack Parow, founder and principal of Parow Consulting & Associates, said the assessment center will include multiple scenarios, such as a problem employee, a media exercise, an inbox exercise where the candidates respond to emails and letters, and a problem-solving exercise where all the candidates will work together. Each scenario will be tailored to Watertown, and will include issues that arise in departments like Watertown’s, or even issues from the past or that have come up in surveys of Police officers and the public.
The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrest
Aug 28, 12:48 a.m.: An officer on a traffic detail saw a vehicle with no headlights on and the hazard lights blinking driving on Mt. Auburn Street near Arlington Street. The vehicle struck the curb while pulled into the parking lot at 7-Eleven. When the vehicle left, the driver swerved across the double yellow line, and then went back onto the correct side.
An elderly driver drove through the window of a vacant office at 440 Arsenal St. on Thursday. (Courtesy of Watertown Fire Department)
An elderly man driving on Arsenal Street on Thursday left the roadway and crashed through a vacant storefront, breaking a gas line. Watertown Police received multiple 911 calls about a vehicle that drove through the window of an unoccupied and vacant office at 440 Arsenal St. at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, said Watertown Police Sgt.
The stuffed animals inside one of the bags provided by the Bethesda Lodge Masons to the Watertown Police to give out to children. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
Watertown Police officers will have a new tool in their cruisers, a bag full of stuffed animals to comfort youngster who have experienced a difficult situation. The six bags full of plush toys come via a donation from the Bethesda Freemasons Lodge, which represents Watertown. The program is known as Project Delta. Officer Michael Stewart said he knows that they will be a useful tool.