Bedford Police Part of Search for Marathon Bomber

in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings as part of the North Eastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council. 

BPD Sergeant Patrick Towle, Sergeant Jeffrey Wardwell and Emergency Communication Officer Jeffrey Vinciulla, as part of NEMLEC, were also on the scene when shots were fired early Friday morning in Watertown until Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured later the same evening. 

The firefight in Watertown between police and the two suspects in the bombing early Friday morning led to the death of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier, the shooting and serious injury of Transit Police Officer Richard Donohue, the death of one suspect and the eventual capture of the other.  

Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis, in a release, commended the response from surround police agencies, including NEMLEC, following the explosions that shook the finish line of the Boston Marathon as well as the city as a whole.

“The police response that was needed over the ensuing days could never be handled by one agency, and fortunately, in times like these, we were able to depend on multiple partners to step up and protect not just the people of Boston, but our neighbors across the state as well,” Davis said in the release.

NEMLEC, which is comprised of 54 member agencies, provided tactical police support in the manhunt for the second suspect in the bombing in Watertown on Friday morning through the organization's Regional Response Team and SWAT team, according to the release.

The organization also provided communications support at the command post set up at the Watertown Mall Friday morning, according to the release. 

Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau, in the release, said the support his department, a NEMLEC member agency, received from the organization during the manhunt was crucial in not only the capture of the suspect, but also in ensuring the citizens of Watertown and the surrounding communities remained safe while the suspect was at large. 

“My town had the resources of literally, dozens of police departments who were helping to keep our residents safe on Friday," Deveau said. "So many of them were on the front lines in this manhunt, and yet all of them had the same goal, of protecting the people who were endangered by this suspect being at large."

While no one was expecting such a tense, horrifying series of events to unfold following one of the most celebrated days across Massachusetts, NEMLEC was ready to answer when they got the call both after the bombings as well as on Friday when shots rang out in Watertown, Deveau said in the release. 

“It was a period of tense, frightening experiences for many, and yet at the same time, it was an unprecedented show of support from our brother agencies, the likes of which I will never forget," Deveau said. 

NEMLEC units also provided support and security while President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attended a memorial service in Boston last Thursday.