Remembering a Little Star: Savin Hill Little League Honors Martin Richard

Remembering Martin Richard: The Savin Hill neighborhood of Dorchester kicked off the 2013 Little League season today (04/27/13) minus one special player who – had he been there – would’ve been wearing a uniform adorned with the number 8 and a signature smile from ear-to-ear. During a ceremony to honor and remember 8 year-old Martin Richard, the number he would’ve worn this season (#8) was permanently affixed to the little league diamond located inside McConnell Park in Savin Hill. Thousands gathered to remember the little boy who many described as a great athlete, polite and always smiling. Said one of his coaches, “It’s just not right, just not fair. It’s really tough now, but we’re never going to forget him. We’ll try to go out and have fun and do what he would have done.”

When is Police Officer Memorial Day???

In an earlier post, a fan of our page posed the following question: “Why does it take a tragic event to acknowledge our law enforcement officers? There should be a day on the calendar every year to acknowledge them for all the hard work they do.” Well, interestingly and ironically enough, native son President John F. Kennedy felt exactly the same way. In fact, way back in 1962, JFK signed a declaration which designated May 15th as Peace Officer’s Memorial Day and the week, in which that day falls, has since come to be known as Police Week.

In fact, every year since 1962, tens of thousands of police officers from all around the country and world have been converging on the nation’s capital to honor and remember all those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. Sadly this year, MIT Police Officer Sean Collier will be listed among the fallen.

Friends and family unable to arrange travel plans to Washington, DC, are strongly and warmly encouraged to offer thoughts, prayers and remembrances at the Boston Police Memorial located next to Boston Police Headquarters which is located at One Schroeder Plaza in Boston.

Eye in the Sky Helped Immensely: State Police Chopper Came Up Big

After Boston Police Officers raced to the scene and confirmed movement inside the boat located in the driveway of 67 Franklin Street in Watertown, the officers on the ground received a huge assist from troopers in the air and the forward-looking infrared camera attached to the Mass State Police helicopter (Photo by Steve Haines/Globe). Upon confirming the presence of an individual inside the boat, Trooper Ed Mathurin proclaimed, “When we put that [infrared camera] on the boat, I was actually shocked that not only did I see there was a heat source, but I got a perfect human silhouette. That doesn’t happen that much.”

The contributions and assistance provided by the Mass State Police helicopter was invaluable in the aiding in the arrest of 19 year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

New England Patriots Honor Boston’s Finest

New England Patriots Honor Boston’s Finest: The BPD would like to thank Patriots owner Robert Kraft and the entire Patriots organization for honoring several members of the BPD during last night’s NFL Draft. Said Superintendent-in-Chief Dan Linskey, “Today was very humbling. Our focus now is on the healing process and taking care of our officers. Our hearts were ripped out that day. We suffered. The city suffered and now we need to get ourselves back together and keep Boston safe.”

Linskey added, “The support of Mr. Kraft and the organization is phenomenal. Then to have the crowd stand up and cheer us … it was crucial to beginning the healing process. Our sports teams are so strong and so vibrant. It’s just so humbling and overwhelming for me to represent the finest team in the entire United States. I want to thank Mr. Kraft for allowing us to shine here tonight.”

The Kraft family had initially planned to donate $100,000 to the fund, but once that announcement was made public, several more donations of various sizes came flooding into the Patriots offices. As a result, Kraft told the crowd Thursday night that the Patriots-related donations would total a symbolic $617,000 – to match the capital city’s area code 617.

Boston 24: Data from Thursday @ 10AM through Friday @ 10AM

Homicides: 0
Nonfatal Shootings: 0
Nonfatal Stabbings: 2

Street Robberies: 3
Commercial Robberies: 1
Bank Robberies: 0
Other Robberies: 0

Vehicle Thefts: 0
Vehicle Recoveries: 2
Vehicle Breaks: 21

Residential Break-ins: 10
Commercial Break-ins: 2

Note: The information above is preliminary information, and should not be considered official crime statistics. The information is based on an initial review of incident reports and may not be a comprehensive listing of events. It is not a statistical analysis, but rather an initial tally of significant events.

April 27th is National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.

Boston Police, in assistance with SAMHSA are asking residents to turn in their unused or expired prescription medication for safe disposal.

Help keep the streets of Boston safe from misuse of prescription medication by turning in expired or unused drugs. To participate, simply blacken out or remove personal information from the pill bottles but leave the name of the medication and drop it off at our designated location.

The Drop Off kiosk is the District 14 Police Station located at 301 Washington St. in Brighton, MA on Saturday April 27th, 2013 between the hours of 10AM and 2PM. By safely disposing of prescription medication, together as a community, we are keeping our families safe and our streets clean.

For more information, please visit www.dea.gov

The Healing Continues: Harvard Forum Ends in a Warm Embrace

The Healing Continues: Last night, on Wednesday, April 24, 2013, during a forum convened at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government to discuss the events and decisions made in the aftermath of Monday’s attack on the Boston Marathon, the last question of the forum turned into a comment and then a hug. After the floor was opened up to the audience for questions, the last question of the evening came from a woman by the name of Jamie Bergstein, an Admissions Coordinator at the Kennedy School of Government. However, after stepping up to the microphone, Bergstein became emotional and struggled to compose herself as she attempted to thank Commissioner Ed Davis who was sitting on the panel. Sensing her anguish, Commissioner Davis stood up from his chair, wandered into the audience and gave Jamie a big hug. Bergstein, with composure regained, exclaimed, “I just wanted to thank you. The support of the Boston Police Department and other police departments and the first responders were amazing. They gave me hope and gave everyone hope. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much.” The room erupted in applause.

Boston 24: Data from Wednesday @ 10AM through Thursday @ 10AM

Homicides: 0
Nonfatal Shootings: 2
Nonfatal Stabbings: 2

Street Robberies: 1
Commercial Robberies: 0
Bank Robberies: 0
Other Robberies: 0

Vehicle Thefts: 4
Vehicle Recoveries: 3
Vehicle Breaks: 11

Residential Break-ins: 11
Commercial Break-ins: 4

Note: The information above is preliminary information, and should not be considered official crime statistics. The information is based on an initial review of incident reports and may not be a comprehensive listing of events. It is not a statistical analysis, but rather an initial tally of significant events.

Remembering a Hero: Officer Sean Collier 1986-2013

Remembering a Hero: Officer Sean Collier 1986-2013
The following poem, which was written by Lieutenant Stanley Hascher of an unknown police department, was found on a website called policepoems.com. Although, one can easily locate a multitude of exceptional poems and prayers written about and dedicated to police officers on the above-mentioned site, we thought it appropriate to dedicate the one listed below to our fallen brother – MIT Police Officer Sean Collier.

Angels In Blue
I had this friend you see, who loved
God, Country, You and me.
My friend went to work day and night
the peace to keep, so you and I could sleep.
He worked the holidays and weekends,
away from family and friends.
To keep this peace for you and me.
Each day this friend put his life on the line
to spare lives yours and mine.
Then one day he paid the price, a call came in where he gave his life.
You’ve done well my friend, patrolling these earthly streets.
Now it’s time to walk on Heaven’s beat.
The next time you see a Police Officer or two,
remember they are one of God’s Angels in Blue.
And remember the words God himself said, “Blessed are the Peace Makers.”

Remembering a Hero: Officer Sean Collier 1986-2013

Today, on Wednesday, April 24, 2013, law enforcement officers from all over the country, numbering in the thousands, reverently and respectfully made their way to Briggs Field on the campus of MIT to memorialize and remember MIT Police Officer Sean Collier. During the service, Sean’s chief, MIT Police Chief John DiFava, remembered a young who was born to be a police officer.

Said DiFava, “He wanted to be a cop since he was 7 and he proved to be one of the great ones.”

“What made him so good is that the uniform never changed him. He was the same in and out of it. He was always approachable. He loved our students and they loved him back,” DiFavo proclaimed.

DiFava concluded, “He left us a lesson – to do it right by treating people right. To the Collier family we offer our deepest sympathies and gratitude. I say gratitude because we thank them for giving us Sean.”