Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer Thomas Devlin succumbed to injuries sustained on September 20th, 1988, when he was exposed to military-grade teargas that had been set off in the ventilation system Edmonds Hall, one of the college's dormitories.
Officer Devlin was one of the first officers to respond to the scene and immediately assisted with evacuating residents from the dormitory. The exposure to the chemicals caused Officer Devlin to suffer burns to over 65% of his lungs. He was hospitalized several times with viral infections as a result of the injuries.
The person who set off the tear gas was never identified and remains at large.
His lungs suffered further damage in May 1999 when he responded to a fire in another residence hall and was exposed to the smoke while evacuating residents. He was hospitalized again after that incident and was forced to medically retire in 2004.
Edmonds Hall was demolished in 2016 and replaced with a recreation center.
Officer Devlin had served with the Boston College Police Department for 21 years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, daughter, parents, brother, and two sisters.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MA-AB79536C- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
21 years. You could have gone home.
Police Officer Devlin gave the Boston College Police Department 21 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Chestnut Hill community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Devlin.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer Thomas Devlin is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In MA, 158 of 469 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.7% of this state's fallen. That is 2.7 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Thomas Devlin's cause is highlighted.
How Thomas Devlin Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Thomas Devlin is highlighted in Apr.