Cop involved with Boston Marathon Shootout - dead at 28

angelburst29

The Living Force
Strange circumstances involved in two Police Officers connected to the Boston Marathon Bombing.

Boston Cop involved in Watertown Shootout Dies at 28
_http://victorypost.com/?p=1777

April 11, 2014 - The Boston Police Department announced yesterday that an on-duty Police Officer named Dennis O. Simmonds, died after “suffering a medical emergency” at the Boston Police Academy on Thursday. Officer Simmonds was recently honored at the Boston Police Relief Association Awards Ceremony for “his bravery during the initial Watertown shoot-out following the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.”

In a Boston Globe article, a law enforcement official who knew Simmonds, said he was a health nut and loved to do CrossFit, run road races, and play basketball, and that he was, “the picture of health.”

According to Boston police Sergeant Michael McCarthy, the “medical emergency” happened just after lunch, during in-service training at the Boston police academy in Hyde Park. He was taken to the hospital and died late Thursday night. No futher explanation has been given as to how he died. He was only 28 years old.

McCarthy said that Simmonds had been in the shootout with the alleged Marathon bombers and had suffered a head injury from the blast of an explosive thrown at him.

For his bravery in the Watertown shootout, Simmonds received the department’s highest honor, the Schroeder Brothers Memorial Medal. Simmonds’ father said, “he was not one to brag about the award,” and that “he didn’t like to be in the spotlight, so he didn’t showboat it too much.”

But like it or not, that spotlight was about to get a lot brighter for Simmonds. My Fox Boston reports that, Simmonds, “was set to go to Washington, D.C. next month to be presented by President Obama himself with one of the country’s highest honors for police,” because of his “service during the Watertown shootout.”

According to My Fox Boston, “Simmonds happened to be in that area the night of the Watertown shootout and he and his partner exchanged gunfire with the suspects.”

BPD Superintendent In Chief William Gross states that, “he was one of the first people to respond and did engage the suspects, and he was wounded.”

Simmonds’ service seem to be missing from many accounts of the shootout, which have various versions, so it is unfortunate that he died before many people might have had a chance to learn what his role or experience was during that night.

The story of the shootout remains somewhat mysterious as the major news networks, quoting anonymous officials, reported drastically different versions of what happened. Not much had been heard from the officers themselves until MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell scored one of the only interviews with the members of the Watertown Police who claimed to be the first on the scene. Their account doesn’t mention Simmonds being, “one of the first people to respond,” in fact their account doesn’t mention Simmonds at all. O’Donnell does little to clear the events up, concerned instead with highlighting how heroic the officers were.

My Fox Boston’s Heather Hegedus reports, “it is another sad day for Boston’s heroes, this is the fourth time in just a couple of weeks that one of Boston’s first responders has died in an untimely manner.

Another officer who had taken part in the Boston Marathon bombing investigation, identified as Gregory Maloney, had just recently died in a motorcycle accident while traveling with a fellow officer. The cause of the crash is still being investigated.


( Offical announcement of Dennis O. Simmonds death )
_http://bpdnews.com/news/2014/4/11/in-memoriam-bpd-mourns-the-passing-of-on-duty-officer-dennis-o-simmonds

(Boston Globe article)
_http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/04/11/boston-police-officer-dies-after-medical-emergency/4Cg93lvhdmzcwTy0SPicKJ/story.html

Simmonds died late Thursday night after a medical emergency in the gym of the Boston police academy in Hyde Park, according to Boston police Sergeant Michael McCarthy. He was on duty at the time, and had just taken his lunch break during in-service training.

On April 19, Simmonds went to Watertown, where police engaged in a shootout with the two alleged Marathon bombers. One of the alleged bombers, McCarthy said, threw an explosive at Simmonds, who suffered a head injury in the blast.

Simmonds received the Schroeder Brothers Memorial Medal, the department’s highest honor, for his bravery. Evans said he was to travel to Washington in May to receive the Top Cop Award from President Obama.

(MSNBC's Lawrence McDonnell interview)
_http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watertown-police-officers-how-the-tsarnaev-f

(Gregory Maloney - Plymouth Officer Dies after on-duty motorcycle crash)
_http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/25133030/2014/04/01/plymouth-officer-involved-in-accident

April 1, 2014 - PLYMOUTH, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- A police officer died after a motorcycle crash on Samoset Street in Plymouth Tuesday afternoon.

The officer was identified as Gregory Maloney, a member of the motorcycle unit since 2009. He and another officer were traveling west bound at about 2:30 p.m. when the crash happened.

Maloney was transported to a local hospital and then airlifted to Mass. General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Plymouth's police chief said there is no obvious reason for the crash and it doesn't appear the motorcycles touched each other.

People in the area tell us the stretch of road where the crash happened is very dangerous.

Investigators are expected to continue looking for the cause of the crash.

Note - Fox Reporter mentioned four Officers - unable to identify the other two possible Officers, still checking.
 
How infuriatingly depressing. What a miserable world where PTB keep pulling such things off...
 
Another death connected to the Boston Marathon bombing:

Boston bombing survivor killed in Dubai car crash
http://mashable.com/2016/03/07/boston-bombing-survivor-car-crash/

A woman who survived the Boston Marathon bombing in April 2013 and was seen being carried away from the site by a firefighter in an iconic photograph was killed in a car crash, Northeastern University said in a statement.

Local Boston news website MyFoxBoston said the crash occurred in Dubai.

“Northeastern University has confirmed that two undergraduate students have been tragically killed in a car accident overseas,” the university said. “Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Victoria McGrath and Priscilla Perez Torres in this extremely difficult time.”

The two women were on a personal trip, the Boston Globe reported, not a school-sponsored study program.

Victoria McGrath was 20 years old when two bombs ripped through a crowd of spectators gathered at the marathon's finish line three years ago, killing three and injuring 264.

She credited a man named "Tyler" with saving her life that day, who had kept her calm in the hectic moments following the blast. That sparked a countrywide search for the man, Sgt. Tyler Dodd, and eventually culminated in an emotional reunion between the survivor and the first responders who saved her.

An iconic photograph showed an injured McGrath being carried away from the blasts by Boston fireman Jim Plourde, just one of the many acts of heroism that took place that day.

“I thought I was going to lose all my blood and die right there,” McGrath told NBC News of the experience at the time.

“She was a brave girl. She wasn’t crying on scene,” Plourde said. But “she was scared.”

McGrath, who suffered nerve injuries to her leg but was well on the road to recovery when she last spoke to the press, said of Dodd: “He just kind of showed up in my vision path when I was looking up ’cause I wouldn’t listen to anyone else. I needed him to be there. He was the only person that would make me feel strong again.”

“Our hearts ache for the family and friends of our former patient Victoria McGrath," Tufts Medical Center said in a statement provided to the Globe. "She made a lasting impact on those who knew her."


Marathon bombing survivor killed in car crash in Dubai (Photos)
http://www.myfoxboston.com/news/marathon-bombing-survivor-has-been-killed-in-a-car-crash-in-dubai/149313162

Updated: Mar 7, 2016

DUBAI —
Two Northeastern University students were tragically killed in a car accident in the United Arab Emirates.

One of the victims was Boston Marathon bombing survivor Victoria McGrath, a business administration and accounting student whose legs were injured when she was hit by shrapnel in the April 15, 2013 attacks.

McGrath, 23, and classmate Priscilla Perez Torrez were in Dubai at the time of the crash. The university said the women were on a personal trip, not studying abroad.

Northeastern University released a statement Monday morning:

"Northeastern University has confirmed that two undergraduate students have been tragically killed in a car accident overseas. Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Victoria McGrath and Priscilla Perez Torres in this extremely difficult time."

McGrath, originally from Weston, Connecticut, was five feet away from the first bomb when it went off at the race nearly three years ago.

Boston firefighter Jimmy Plourde used a T-shirt to tie a tourniquet on her leg and carried her to a medical tent. Images of the scene became lasting photos of the marathon bombings.

“People come up to me and tell me how terrible this is,” McGrath said at a fundraiser following the 2013 bombings. “And to an extent they are right, but we're only going to get stronger from this -- all of us.”

Plourde released a statement Monday on McGrath's death, saying that his family was "devastated."

Plourde's full statement:

“ My family is devastated with the loss of our dearest friend Victoria McGrath and her roommate Priscilla Perez Torres. After the Boston Marathon Bombing Victoria become a major part of my life as well as my families. It's been said that I helped to save her life, but the truth is Victoria saved my life after the marathon as her love, support and friendship helped myself and my family deal with the acts of 4/15/13. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the McGrath and Perez Torres Family's as they deal with this unimaginable tragedy.
#BostonStrong

Details of the crash that killed McGrath and Torrez are still unclear.
 
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