Family launches new Sean Collier Memorial Fund

BOSTON — Family of slain MIT Police Officer Sean Collier formally announced a new fund in his honor at an event in Boston on Thursday.

Collier, who was fatally shot by the Boston Marathon bombers while sitting in his cruiser in April 2013, dedicated his life not only to serving the community as a police officer but also to volunteering and donating to various charities, including youth and homeless programs, his family said at Fenway bar Cask ‘n Flagon.

The Sean A. Collier Memorial Fund will support programs for young people aspiring to be officers, foster positive relationships between youth and law enforcement and assist families of officers killed or injured in the line of duty.

“He was 27. He had so much ahead of him… He was making such an impact and such a change, and that was taken away,” said Collier’s sister, Jennifer Lemmerman of her brother. “The fund is really a way for us as Sean's family to carry on a lot of the things that were so important to him.”

Former Transit Police Officer Dic Donohue, who was severely injured in the Watertown gun battle following the bombings, attended the event Thursday to support the fund in the name of his good friend.

“Sean was a great guy,” Donohue said. “We met at the police academy. He was a great public servant. He was a great person to be around.”

Donohue stressed the importance of the fund’s mission to support families of injured and slain officers.

“My family [and I], we were unprepared for what happened and to me and what happened to all of us after the events of the Boston marathon bombing,” Donohue said. “So any kind of support network that can be in place not just today or tomorrow but in the long run is extremely, extremely important.”

Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge, authors of ‘Boston Strong,’ held the event for the Colliers, who became friends of theirs as the pair chronicled Sean’s life of service and his untimely death.

“Sean's heart was bigger than his badge and we're here to honor that,” Sherman said.

Cox Media Group