Police Foundation Awards Officer of the Year

The Marco Island Police Foundation kicked off the 2022 Season with the presentation of the 2021 Officer of the Year Award. In addition, Marco Island resident and retired Police Chief Ed Deveau of the Watertown, Massachusetts Police Department gave a riveting presentation on the capture of the Boston Marathon bombers.

Marco Police Chief Tracy Frazzano and Police Foundation President Vernon Geberth welcomed attendees to the event at the Hideaway Beach Club, where the assembly enjoyed a petite filet luncheon. 

Chief Frazzano presented the 2021 Officer of the Year Award to Officer “Will” Prigge, in front of a gathering of approximately 150 active and retired officers and police department supporters. With her typical humorous musings, Frazzano jokingly referred to the award presentation as the “worst kept secret,” while she named Officer Prigge as Marco’s Officer of the Year.

Prigge joined the agency after retiring from a 24-year career with a local cable company. Some joked that he should be used to the occasional public scorn. Frazzano humorously added that Prigge was her “go to guy” every time her cable went out!

Prigge dedicated himself to the job he had always dreamed of. He put himself through the Police Academy to obtain his accreditation for fulltime status, and previously served as a reserve officer for Marco Island.

Since joining the department, Officer Prigge has earned the praises of command staff and fellow officers for his role in saving an 83-year-old man, as well as participating in the water rescue of a 68-year-old woman. Prigge gained notoriety from another media source for his “impressive guns,” when photos of him with a 7-foot python wrapped around his arms appeared across social media. He was a good sport about the lighthearted ribbing he received from his superiors and fellow officers. 

In addition to honoring one of their own, officers, spouses and guests sat riveted on every word of retired Chief Ed Deveau of the Watertown Police Department as he recalled the details of his department’s involvement apprehending the Boston Bombers in April 2013.

The Boston Marathon Bombing transfixed the entire nation to the national news, beginning with the first bomb’s detonation at 2:49 PM in front of Marathon Sports killing Krystle Marie Campbell, burning and maiming many there. Only 12 seconds later the second bomb exploded, killing Lingzi Lu and Martin Richard, while burning and maiming numerous other victims in front of the Forum Restaurant. All of these horrific events were captured in numerous videos and photographs by the people there.

Over the next 48 to 72 hours the bombers showed no remorse but communicated with other showing a callous disregard for the mayhem they had caused, as well as the terrible injuries and loss of life.

On April 18 at 10:25 PM they ambushed and subsequently assassinated an MIT Police Officer from behind, shooting him in the head. From there they would carjack a Mercedes SUV and force its driver to take them to Watertown where they would retrieve items from their Civic. Their intent was to have the driver transport them to New York City where they would continue to wreak havoc on more unsuspecting civilians. Shortly after midnight the owner of the vehicle escaped from the brothers and alerted authorities of their presence in Watertown.

Chief Deveau would recount the events and heroic actions as his department, along with other agencies slowly but surely began closing in on the two brothers. This was not before a gun battle on the normally quiet streets of Watertown, saw the brothers hurl unexploded explosive devices and exchange gunfire with Watertown officers with multiple injuries to both officers and the suspects.

It would eventually result in the capturing of one seriously injured brother, while the other temporarily flees the scene with the stolen SUV, but not before he runs over his own brother while attempting to run over three Watertown officers. That brother would be transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital and be pronounced dead shortly after arrival. The second brother would eventually abandon the seriously damaged SUV and would find refuge under a boat cover in the backyard of a home in Watertown, whose owner would alert authorities of.

On April 19 at 8:45pm the last brother would be placed in custody and transported to the hospital. He would eventually recover from his wounds and be tried beginning on March 4, 2015, in the U.S. District Court in Boston and was convicted of “using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death and with malicious destruction of property resulting in death. He was convicted on April 8, 2015, when he was sentenced to death for those crimes. That sentence was vacated on appeal in July 2020. That ruling has been appealed and the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on the reinstatement of the death sentence. He is in a maximum-security prison serving life sentences on several other counts.

As you looked around the room of the Hideaway Beach Function Hall you could sense the astonishment in the faces and eyes of those in attendance, as many had felt they had been right alongside of Chief Deveau and his personnel during his presentation. As such they would respond with an extended round of applause for the heroic actions of that small 65-person suburban department just outside the larger City of Boston. 

After his presentation, Chief Deveau stayed and answered the many questions of the attendees.