Salem State mourns slain MIT officer

SALEM – Salem State University is mourning a “bright, funny and well-rounded” former student, MIT Police Officer Sean Collier, a member of the SSU Class of 2009, killed in the line of duty overnight by the alleged Boston Marathon bombers.Kristen Kuehnle, chairwoman of the SSU Criminal Justice Department, said Collier was one of her students in a 2008 summer course.”I had him in the summer Women In Criminal Justice course,” Kuehnle said, noting the course is one all students in the program must take to learn about women’s issues, those concerning professionals in law enforcement as well as female offenders.”He was an exceptional student, outgoing, very bright, humorous and well-rounded,” Kuehnle said. “Sean had a great sense of humor but he was also a very serious student. He wanted nothing more than to be a police officer.”Kuehnle said Collier was one of only a handful, typically 15 percent, of criminal justice students who graduate with honors from SSU.”It is an elite group,” she said.View photos from the manhuntKuehnle, a member of the SSU faculty for 17 years and department chairwoman for three, said Collier is the third of her former students (during her career and including before her years at SSU) to die in the line of duty – one a state trooper and the other a police officer killed overseas during a military peacekeeping mission.”(Students) know the risk,” she said. “Being killed while on duty is something we cover ? Police officers are really on the job 24 hours, whether or not they’re working, because it’s a job they’re sworn to; even off-duty, they may be called to take some action. It’s a high-stress job.”Kuehnle said she was overcome with grief the second she saw Collier’s photo appear on a television screen Friday morning as part of the continuing coverage of the marathon bomber terrorist pursuit.”I knew instantly that we had him. It was five years ago but I remember Sean because our classes are small, and when you don’t teach a wide range of students you get to know them,” she said. “It’s just a sad day.”She said the University informed all faculty and students about Collier’s death, and that his sacrifice will be something the university will honor and something that will be a subject of discussion with students in the days ahead.Following is the prepared statement SSU issued to the media and throughout the campus on Friday:”We are deeply saddened to learn that Sean Collier, a member of Salem State’s class of 2009, was killed last night in the line of duty. He was a campus police officer at MIT. Sean received a criminal justice degree and graduated with honors. Our thoughts and sympathy go out to Sean’s family as well as all those affected by the recent tragic events in Boston.”Sean Leonard can be reached at [email protected].