Guarding marathon suspect body cost almost $50,000

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — Worcester's police chief says the state or federal government should pay the nearly $50,000 it cost his department to provide security at the funeral home where the body of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev lay for almost a week.

Chief Gary Gemme said Monday he will not ask funeral home owner Peter Stefan to cover the $47,171 in security expenses.

Several officers at a time provided round-the-clock security at the Graham Putnam and Mahoney funeral parlor before the body was secretly whisked away for burial in Virginia last Thursday.

He says security was needed because of the presence of several protesters and a large media contingent.

Gemme says there is a process in place for seeking federal reimbursement and the city is exploring that process.

Cox Media Group