RANDOLPH, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) – Police marched in a procession Wednesday to honor Officer Dennis Simmonds, who lost his life while on duty last week. The procession went to the Cartwright Funeral Home where Simmonds' wake was held.
Boston police; the Crime Prevention Strike Force, which Officer Simmonds was a part of; and police from Simmonds' hometown were all present and took part in the ceremony for the fallen officer. The ceremony aimed to show Simmonds' family how much he was appreciated and respected.
Simmonds was only 28 years old, and the fact that he was so young and yet died from a medical emergency on the job while he was in the gym at the police academy, is something police say is truly eye opening and scary.
Simmonds' father told FOX 25 that it may have been a brain aneurysm. Simmonds, whose family called him D.J., had already made quite an impact on his community working in the streets of Dorchester and Mattapan to proactively curb violence. He was set to travel to Washington, D.C. next month to receive one of the nation's highest awards for his bravery during the Watertown shootout after the Boston Marathon last year.
He had already received a similar award in Boston after being injured during that shootout with the Watertown suspects. Simmonds' father told us his son exchanged gunfire directly with the suspects.
And during Tuesday's tribute at the Hynes Convention Center to commemorate the one year mark since the bombings, Vice President Joe Biden mentioned Simmonds and seemed to indicate the possibility that Simmonds' injuries during the Watertown shootout may have had something to do with his death.
"It's not just what they do. It's who they are. It's who Sean Collier was, patrolling and protecting the campus and the community that he loved. It's also what Officer Dennis Simmonds, who put his life on the line last year in a shootout, to hunt down the killers, he suffered a severe head injury and ultimately he is succumb," Biden said.
The Boston Police Department says Simmonds' death will be looked into, there will be an internal investigation headed by the police commissioner, the department's attorney and city attorneys, but they are holding off for two days until Simmonds can be laid to rest. The Suffolk County District Attorney's office also said that it is very premature and a review of Simmonds' medical records from immediately after the Watertown shootout would have to be conducted.
Cox Media Group
