REVERE — After spending 16 hours hunting marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Police Chief Joseph Carfarelli said he and the Metro North SWAT Team, which he commands, just wanted to go home but unfortunately they couldn’t find their van.
“Our job was done ”¦ we made our way back to the vehicle but as luck would have it, someone moved our van. We couldn’t find it.”
Cafarelli said when Metro North and Boston SWAT teams headed toward Franklin Street where Tsarnaev was said to be hiding they ditched their vehicles about a half mile out and went in on foot. Cafarelli said apparently the Metro North van was blocking an intersection so another officer moved it but by the time they returned to get it media personnel had swarmed the area blocking the van.
Cafarelli said he approached a police officer who was directing traffic to ask him if he had seen the van.
“He grabs my hand and starts shaking it and thanking me,” he said. “And I had to ask him, ‘hey have you seen a big blue van?’”
Cafarelli said the officer pointed across the street where they now had to maneuver through a throng of media outlets before they could safely head home.
The incident offered a bit of levity in what had been physically and mentally exhausting day for the team, Cafarelli said.
When asked if he would like to be a part of a ticker tape parade, which many believe the first responders deserve, Cafarelli laughed.
“I want a Duck Tour,” he said. “Me and (Red Sox player) Big Papi and a Duck Tour. I’d be thrilled.”
Chris Stevens can be reached at [email protected].
