Boston Marathon Bombing

LETTER: Mother Worries About Impact of ‘Patriots Day’ Filming in Watertown

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Esteemed Councilors,

I’m a resident of District C, and I’m writing to you today to urge you to register your opposition to the filming of Patriots Day in the Laurel/Dexter Street neighborhood. At the time of the shootout — in which over 200 rounds were fired, one person was killed in a particularly gruesome way and a police officer was injured, I lived in that neighborhood. The garage of the home where I lived was about 75 feet from the shootout. My children still live there half the week, as my former husband and I share custody of them. I want to tell you that it’s not just about recreating a traumatic event with pyrotechnics late at night in the same neighborhood that witnessed these horrible events.

Around Town

LETTER: Resident Opposes Filming Recreation of Watertown Shootout

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Dear Mr. Driscoll and Councilors Sideris, Dattoli, Falkoff, Palomba, Kounelis, Feltner, Piccirilli, Woodland, and Dushku,

I am writing to oppose the re-creation and filming of gun battle scenes for the movie “Patriots Day” on Laurel Street in Watertown. I live near-by on Boylston Street — close enough that my husband heard the sound of the shootout as it happened, close enough to be woken by the sounds of helicopters over my house that night. When I learned that the five nights of filming planned on Laurel Street within ear shot of my home would be loud, including gunshots until midnight, I felt angry and anxious. I wondered — who would allow this to happen in our town?! As I learned more, I felt the tears fill my eyes.

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

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

Family Says Officer Died From Injuries From Shootout with Bombers in Watertown

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A Boston Police officer who collapsed and died last year may have died from injuries suffered during the shootout with the Boston Marathon Bombing suspects in Watertown, and his family is seeking benefits related to the incident. On April 19, 2013 Boston Police Officer Dennis Simmonds reportedly rushed into Watertown, where officers were engaged in a fierce gun battle with the Tsarnaev brothers. Simmonds was allegedly knocked off his feet and suffered a head injury after one of the brothers threw an explosive that night. A year later, he collapsed and died while working out at the Boston Police Academy Gym. He was 28, and a six year veteran of the BPD.

Boston Marathon Bombing

NPR Investigates What Happened During Watertown Shootout, Manhunt

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WBUR reporter and Watertown resident Bruce Gellerman set out to figure out exactly what happened during the Watertown Shootout and Manhunt, two years after the dramatic events in town. Gellerman put together a two-part audio timeline of the events for National Public Radio covering the events of April 18 and 19, 2013, when the Boston Marathon Bombing suspects carjacked a Mercedes SUV and got into a shootout with Watertown Police and the manhunt and ultimate capture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The report played on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition includes interviews of Watertown Police, residents and police radio. Some of the interviews include information not included in the official report or presented at trial, in which the jury recently found Tsarnaev guilty. He said the recently released report looking at the Boston Marathon Bombing response and the shootout and manhunt in Watertown got some things wrong, and some things left out.

Boston Marathon Bombing

Councilor Wants a Community Forum on Watertown Shootout, Manhunt

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With the recent release of a comprehensive study of the response to the Boston Marathon Bombing and events that followed in Watertown that was critical of some of the actions of law enforcement, a Watertown Town Councilor wants to have a review of the shootout and manhunt. Councilor Susan Falkoff said she read the Boston Globe’s recent editorial called “What went wrong in Watertown.” The story detailed some of the shortcomings of the response by law enforcement, and said, “despite good intentions, the presence of hundreds of officers in Watertown put lives at risk and did nothing to assist the search.” At Tuesday’s Town Coucnil meeting, Falkoff said she wants to get some answers about what happened in Watertown on April 18 and 19, 2013. “The citizens of Watertown remain grateful for the work of the police, but the report states that the best practices were not followed,” Falkoff said.

Boston Marathon Bombing

Report Gives Mixed Reviews of Police During Search for Marathon Bomber

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A study of efforts to stop and capture the Boston Marathon Bombing suspects had mixed reviews of law enforcements’ use of force, and other practices of police in Watertown. The report led by the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), was released this week, according to a report on Boston.com. See the full report by clicking here. The first officers on the scene, all Watertown Police officers, “practiced appropriate weapons discipline while they were engaged in the firefight with the suspects.”

Some of that followed quickly afterward from a variety of departments however, fired without identifying the suspect and a times without first aiming, the report found. In one incident that night, plain clothed State Police troopers were fired on when their SUV was misidentified as being stolen.