Boston Marathon Bombing

As a gun battle raged and pipe bombs exploded on the streets of Watertown, MLC attorney Alan McDonald was called to the Watertown police headquarters to assist officers returning from the pursuit and fight with the Boston Marathon bombers.

It wasn’t the first time an attorney from MLC was called to assist police officers in the wake of a shooting, but it was the most intense. “It was an extremely stressful situation and all of us had the sense that the world was watching,” Alan said.

MLC represents numerous law enforcement unions, including the Watertown Police Association and the MIT Campus Police Association. As he prepared to head to the police station that day, Alan called the vice president of the MIT police union, who was at Mass General Hospital with Sean Collier and his family. That’s when Alan heard the grim news—the young MIT officer shot by one of the bombers was dead.

“Learning of Sean’s brutal murder only added to the stress and the drama of the moment,” Alan said. “We worked right through the night, until 4 a.m.”

Alan said officers involved in the pursuit, gun battle, and ensuing capture were expected to write reports of the incident and their actions. It was no easy task. “This was an unprecedented situation for these officers. And there is so much going through an officer’s mind at that moment,” Alan said. “It’s important that they produce a high-quality report of their actions which is accurate and truthful, so we assisted them. We helped them focus on the key issues and the important details.”