Watertown Sgt. Says Instinct Took Over In Shootout With Bombing Suspects
BOSTON (CBS) - Police Sgt. Jeff Pugilese said instinct took over when he tackled Boston Marathon bombings suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev after the high speed chase and firefight on the streets of Watertown last month.
A guest on "NewsWatch with Joe Mathieu" on WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Thursday, Pugilese said he had Tamerlan on the ground and was trying to arrest him, when he saw the younger Tsarnaev brother coming at him in the stolen SUV.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe reports
Watertown Sgt Describes Bombing Suspect's Death
Pugilese and his fellow officers managed to jump out of the way of the vehicle just in time.
"I actually saw the front wheels go over Tamerlan and then I saw his body bounce up and down underneath the undercarriage a couple of times. He got hung up in the rear wheels and he was dragged about 20 to 25 feet," Pugilese said.
That was followed, Pugilese said, by Dzhokhar slamming into a police vehicle before backing up and taking off.
"(Dzhokhar) pulled away. I saw the rear wheels go over Tamerlan; got back up, got his arms behind his back, and he's still resisting at this point," Pugilese said.
Tamerlan was pronounced dead a short time later at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Watertown Police Chief Ed Deveau said he's incredibly proud if his officers for the heroic job they did in protecting people.
"No police officer on American soil has faced what these guys did that night with bullets and bombs being thrown at them," Deveau told WBZ. "What they accomplished that night is just incredible to me."
