Thursday, 4:30 PM
Boston police increase protection for targeted home
By Suzanne Smalley, Globe Staff
The Boston Police Department said today it will provide an around-the-clock protective detail to guard the home of indicted Officer Nelson Carrasquillo after it was targeted by suspected arsonists for the third time yesterday.
Acting Police Commissioner Albert Goslin said an officer will stay outside Carrasquillo's Dorchester home, will be dispatched to answer other calls, but will return after finishing that assignment.
"This is the third event at this location," Goslin said. "While the investigation is going on, I have a duty to protect not only the individual property owner, but the people living in close proximity."
Early on Aug. 6, there was a small porch fire, and about 20 hours later that same day a device resembling a Molotov cocktail was tossed into the house but did not ignite. Afterwards, officers made an extra effort to check on the property, Goslin said.
But he said yesterday's more serious fire, which caused an estimated $40,000 in damage, demands a more aggressive response. No one was home when the house was set ablaze shortly after 2:30 a.m. yesterday. Police are seeking two men that a witness said he saw running from the scene.
"We couldn't read anything necessarily into the first event," he said. "As the thing has escalated we have escalated our response."
Carrasquillo and two other officers, Carlos A. Pizarro and Roberto Pulido, were arrested on July 20 in Miami on charges that they protected 100 kilograms of cocaine while it was being trucked to Boston in June. Last week, a federal judge granted bail for Carrasquillo and Pizarro, but neither man had posted bail as of yesterday.
