Into the Line of Fire: Belmont Police Aid Watertown, Boston in Terrorist Hunt

With Belmont bordering Watertown and only six miles from the finish line of the Boston Marathon, it was a certainty that the Belmont Police Department would be involve in the law enforcement effort investigating the twin bombs killed three and wounded nearly 200 on Monday and the Wild West-type gun battle in Watertown Friday morning and subsequent manhunt to capture the surviving suspect of the terrorist acts that also caused the death of MIT Officer Sean Collier.

Belmont Police Assistant Chief James MacIsaac wrote to Belmont Patch a detailed description of his officer's participation in last week's historic events.

One of the allures of police work is that when you go to work you never know what situations await you. Officers can never predict what kind of day they will have."

Monday, April 15, was one of those rare days where police officers went to work and ended up becoming embroiled in major terrorist incident. Immediately after the bomb detonations at the Boston Marathon finish line at 2:50 p.m., the Boston Police began asking for assistance over the area wide radio network. 

Belmont Officers Matthew Benoit, Richard Wright, Shiraz Banosian and Rob Sacca obtained orders to answer Boston’s call for help and responded to the Westin Hotel Command Center arriving before 4 p.m. The officers transported persons who were witnesses to the bombing to Boston Police Headquarters for interviews and assisted in directing traffic. 

On Thursday April 18, the midnight shift for officers Matthew Stewart and Matt Benoit began with a briefing regarding the shooting of MIT Officer Sean Collier.  Shortly after roll call, a BOLO (be on the lookout) was broadcast for a black Mercedes occupied by two armed individuals who were suspects in the Collier shooting. Radio chatter also indicated that the two involved individuals were possibly linked to earlier bombings. The Mercedes’ last know location was Memorial Drive, direction of travel unknown.

Stewart working the sector that boarders Watertown and Cambridge figured the Mercedes was either going to head east into Boston or come west into Watertown or Belmont. He parked his cruiser on Belmont Street opposite Langdon Avenue in Watertown.   

With his radio on scan, the next broadcast Stewart heard was shots fired on Mt. Auburn Street in Watertown. He immediately headed into Watertown. Stewart didn’t realize how close he was to the suspect vehicle until he turned onto Mt. Auburn Street and found himself in the middle of the chase. As he turned onto Dexter Avenue he noticed damaged cars and officers running. Exiting his cruiser with gun drawn, he began to head toward the sound of gunfire. Stewart described a scene where the street was engulfed in heavy smoke and the deafening sound of gun shots and bombs made communication impossible.  

In the midst of the gun battle, Officer Stewart had seen Transit Officer Richard Donahue who had been shot being attended to by other officers. Uncertainty about where the shooting was coming from and reports that the suspect had stolen a police vehicle and fled the scene compounded the officer’s on scene anxiety. Stewart then re-entered his cruiser and began to look for the suspect.  

Benoit also responded to shots fired in Watertown from Concord Avenue. Benoit arrived on Dexter Avenue in the area of Laurel Street. When he was unable to proceed further in his vehicle, he exited his cruiser and headed on foot toward the sound of gunfire. In the 911 center in Belmont Police headquarters at 460 Concord Ave., dispatchers could hear the explosions occurring in Watertown. 

Benoit was eventually teamed up with Stewart and other Belmont officers to maintain perimeters in the area of Dexter, School and Mt. Auburn streets.  The Belmont officers from the night shift worked well into Friday afternoon, stationed on perimeters in Watertown. Benoit was unable to retrieve his car until 9:30 p.m. Friday night.   

The Belmont Police also provided the North East Middlesex Law Enforcement Council, or NEMLEC, with Dispatcher James Riccio and RRT Officers Corey Taylor, Timmy Connors, Marc Pugliese and motorcycle officer Sacca throughout the entire incident.

As we all know, Belmont was shut down on Friday. There was an interesting hour when FBI blood hounds were on a track that took them into the Grove Street neighborhood near Shaw Road.

The Belmont Police Officers are very thankful and grateful for the cooperation they received from the citizens. One got an eerie feeling when you took note of the quietness and to see the streets of Belmont deserted of people and cars. The decision to shelter in place was one of great importance and though it may have been an inconvenience, we believe that it certainly aided in the search for the suspect and avoided potentially dangerous encounters between police and civilians. 

The Belmont Police are very appreciative of the outpouring of support and encouragement that has been received from the citizens of Belmont.