Thousands of students, faculty members, law enforcement officers and top politicians from across the country came to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus to pay their respects to Officer Sean Collier after he was killed in the line of duty.
“Officer Collier didn’t just have a job at MIT,” said MIT President Rafael Reif. “He had a life at MIT.”
Collier was shot and killed in his patrol car during his late night patrol on April 18. Federal officials said he was killed by Boston Marathon bombing suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
“In just 15 months, he built a life with us that was rich in friendship and shared adventure,” Reif said. “MIT is a place that celebrates passionate and curiosity, and Sean Collier fit right in.”
John DiFava, MIT Police Department Chief, said he remembers Collier’s love for life. DiFava shared stories about how Collier wanted to be a police officer since he was seven years old.
“He was the same person in uniform that he was when he wasn’t in uniform,” he said. “Because of his depth of character, he was able to achieve a level of trust with people of all backgrounds that was truly remarkable.”
Folk singer James Taylor performed “The Water is Wide” with the MIT Symphony Orchestra and “Shower the People” with various MIT a cappella ensembles during the memorial service.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Collier was a young man inspired to serve his country.
“Sean was a model for how police officers should serve,” she said. “He knew that a strong, secure community requires more of its police than just to stand guard, it requires them to be full members of the community.”
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said he was thankful for the law enforcement officers around the country that protect the families of America from danger every day.
“My heart goes out to you,” he said. “I hope you find some solace in this moment of extreme grief as you listen to what is being said about your son.”
Biden said he understood the Collier family’s pain, as his first wife and daughter were killed in a car crash in 1972.
“You know it’s going to be okay when you pass a little league field or hear a song that reminds you of Sean … when you get a smile to your lips before a tear comes to your eye,” he said.
Tori Finney, a freshman at MIT studying biological engineering, said she saw Collier policing a party on April 14.
“There was a lot of MIT police detail there,” she said. “I remember seeing Sean and someone brought some alcohol into an area they weren’t supposed to. He was pretty nice about it and didn’t make it a huge issue.”
Lili Cai, 26, technician at the neuroscience lab at MIT, said everyone coming together to honor Collier was a beautiful tribute to his memory.
“It really brought people together and reinforced the community that is at MIT,” she said. “If something happens to you, they’re [the MIT community] there for you, they’re your family.”