Sgt. Sean Murphy Of The Massachusetts State Police, Furious With The Rolling Stone Cover, Releases His Own Pictures Of The Manhunt To Remind Us What A Monster The Terrorist Was
A sniper trains his bead on Tsarnaev.
Tsarnaev’s image distributed to troopers at roll call.
Federal, state, and local officials strategize in mobile state police command post.
Mayor Menino is briefed by State Police Col. Timothy Alben, Governor Patrick, FBI Special Agent Richard DeLauriers, and BPD Superintendent Ed Davis.
The state police tactical response vehicle arrives in Watertown.
Law enforcement officials converge on the boat where Tsarnaev is hiding.
State troopers plan final assault on the boat.
State troopers at the scene in Watertown.
Law enforcement at the scene in Watertown.
A sniper’s view of the boat
Tsarnaev emerges from the boat.
Tsarnaev on the boat.
Tactical EMTs attend to Tsarnaev.
Medical personnel prepare to put Tsarnaev into an ambulance.
(Boston) — Sgt. Sean Murphy, a tactical photographer with the Massachusetts State Police who has photographed the funerals of many officers killed in the line of duty, is furious with the magazine. Murphy, who also acts a liaison to the families of fallen officers, is so angered by the cover—which he says is both dangerous and insulting to the victims of the bombings—that he feels the need to counter the message that it conveys. Here, in his own words, Murphy shares his thoughts on the Rolling Stone cover. He stresses that he is speaking strictly for himself and not as a representative of the Massachusetts State Police:
“As a professional law-enforcement officer of 25 years, I believe that the image that was portrayed by Rolling Stone magazine was an insult to any person who has every worn a uniform of any color or any police organization or military branch, and the family members who have ever lost a loved one serving in the line of duty. The truth is that glamorizing the face of terror is not just insulting to the family members of those killed in the line of duty, it also could be an incentive to those who may be unstable to do something to get their face on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.
“I hope that the people who see these images will know that this was real. It was as real as it gets. This may have played out as a television show, but this was not a television show. Officer Dick Donohue almost gave his life. Officer Sean Collier did give his life. These were real people, with real lives, with real families. And to have this cover dropped into Boston was hurtful to their memories and their families. I know from first-hand conversations that this Rolling Stone cover has kept many of them up—again. It’s irritated the wounds that will never heal—again. There is nothing glamorous in bringing more pain to a grieving family.
“Photography is very simple, it’s very basic. It brings us back to the cave. An image like this on the cover of Rolling Stone, we see it instantly as being wrong. What Rolling Stone did was wrong. This guy is evil. This is the real Boston bomber. Not someone fluffed and buffed for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.”
Bravo! Fucking bravo, Sgt. Sean Murphy! What an awesome way to remind us how real this shit was. The terrorist wasn’t fucking Bon Jovi, he was a scumbag hiding in a boat like a scared little rat. He cried like a coward as he still managed to scribe anti-American words in his own blood. This is how he should be remembered, with a red dot right in the middle of his head ready to blow his brains all over the place. Seriously that top pic might be my favorite picture ever. Unbelievable. I don’t know how that sniper didn’t pull the trigger but he’s a better man than I.