A police officer who was wounded during a shootout with Boston Marathon bombing suspects Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2013 unexpectedly died on Thursday. In May, he was to be honored for his bravery by President Obama in Washington, D.C.
Officer Dennis O. Simmonds died not long after eating his lunch at the Boston police academy, police officials said, The Boston Globe reported. The exact causes were not revealed, but the medical emergency occurred in the academy’s gym.
While engaging the suspected Boston Marathon bombers on April 19, 2013, Officer Simmonds suffered a head injury after an explosive was thrown at him, the Globe reported.
“[Being a cop] was all he ever talked about, and all he ever wanted to do,” his family told police spokesman Sgt. Michael McCarthy, the Globe reported.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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