BOSTON (WHDH) — MIT police officers lined the street outside the Moakley Federal Courthouse in South Boston during Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s arraignment Wednesday.
Tsarnaev and his brother, who was killed in a shootout with police in Watertown on April 19, are accused of the bombings at the marathon that killed three people and injured more than 260. The brothers are also accused of shooting and killing MIT Police Officer Sean Collier.
The officers lined the street, silently honoring their fallen officer.
“It’s a very, very tight department. It’s a small department. They are very, very close with each other. They were spontaneous when they found out the arraignment would take place today — they volunteered on their own time to come here, to be here and show support that we haven’t forgotten what happened,” said Chief John DiFava of the MIT Police Department.
On Wednesday, DiFava got to look Tsarnaev in the eye.
“It was very difficult to look at him. It was very, very hard,” said DiFava. “Seeing someone that murdered someone that meant a lot to you…”
He was feet away from the man accused of killing one of his officers.
“My impressions, my feelings — he’s a punk. He showed no remorse. That’s what my impression was,” said DiFava.
The MIT officers said they will be outside the courthouse every time Tsarnaev returns to court. They will stand facing federal court.