Photographer who released Tsarnaev capture images suspended
Updated 11:00 PM ET
A Massachusetts state police photographer angered by Rolling Stone magazine's latest cover of Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has released never-before-seen photos of Tsarnaev just before he was taken into custody.
Pictures taken by Sgt. Sean Murphy, and first published by Boston Magazine, show a bruised and bloody Tsarneav emerging from the backyard boat he hid in after a confrontation with authorities that left his older brother and alleged bombing accomplice dead.
Dave Procopio, a state police spokesman, said that the agency did not approve the photos' release, The Associated Press reported. He told CBS News that Murphy has been relieved of duty for one day and that he is the subject of an internal investigation. Procopio also added that Murphy's duty status will be determined at a hearing next week.
According to Boston Magazine, Murphy was behind the scenes during the entire manhunt for the Tsarnaev brothers. He shot strategy meetings, briefings, and officers patrolling the streets of Watertown as the city was essentially shut down. The most shocking photos, however, are those of the younger Tsarnaev himself, the lasers from sniper rifles seen pointing at his forehead just before he is taken into custody.
Murphy said he decided to release the pictures because he was enraged by the controversial cover in this month's issue of Rolling Stone, an image that has attracted a considerable amount of negative attention from officials, Boston bombing victims and readers for what they say is glamorizing the marathon bombing suspect.
"As a professional law-enforcement officer of 25 years, I believe that the image that was portrayed by Rolling Stone magazine was an insult to any person who has every worn a uniform of any color or any police organization or military branch, and the family members who have ever lost a loved one serving in the line of duty," he said in a statement, according to Boston Magazine.
He said he hopes his photographs shows "the real Boston Bomber. Not someone fluffed and buffed for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine."
Rolling Stone has defended its cover art, saying it falls "within the traditions of journalism."
"The fact that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is young, and in the same age group as many of our readers, makes it all the more important for us to examine the complexities of this issue and gain a more complete understanding of how a tragedy like this happens."
See all of the photographs, and the entire statement, here.