WATERTOWN, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Watertown Police officer that tackled Boston Marathon Bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev has retired. Sgt. Jeff Pugliese had his last roll call on Monday.
Pugliese told WBZ-TV that even after 41 years on the Watertown force, he wouldn't have it any other way. Pugliese is retiring because he has hit the mandatory age of retirement for police officers in Massachusetts.
The officer became well-known for his actions after the Boston Marathon Bombing in 2013. Pugliese is credited with tackling Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of the Marathon bombers, after a firefight in a residential Watertown neighborhood where the Tsarnaev brothers hurled explosives and shot at the police. The officer said that Tsarnaev threw his gun at him before running off, hitting him in the shoulder before Pugliese could tackle him.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev ran over his brother as he attempted to run down Pugliese and other officers that were trying to bring Tamerlan in. Pugliese said the SUV Tsarnaev was driving came inches from his face.
Pugliese won the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor in 2013.
He said he's still not ready to retire. He said his advice for younger officers was that they should “Be proud of the profession."
"Don’t dishonor the uniform. You’re there to help people, not hurt people," he told WBZ-TV.
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