Dennis Oliver Simmonds
Agency patch
Sergeant

Dennis Oliver Simmonds

Boston Police Department — Roxbury Crossing, MA
Illness
End of Watch April 10, 2014
Age 28
Tour of Duty 6 yrs
The Vigil Panel 364 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Sergeant D.J. Simmonds suffered a fatal brain aneurysm while working out at the Boston Police Academy gym at approximately 1:30 pm.

Officer Simmonds had suffered a head injury on April 19, 2013, when he was struck by shrapnel from an explosive device that was detonated during a shootout with the Boston Marathon Bombers in Watertown, Massachusetts, the day after they murdered Police Officer Sean Collier of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Police Department.

After he collapsed in the gym, he was rushed to a local hospital, where he passed away.

Sergeant Simmonds had served with the Boston Police Department for six years.

Survivors

Survivors include his parents.

In Our Keeping

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Stewardship
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Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Sergeant Simmonds gave the Boston Police Department 6 years.
Thank you for your service to the Roxbury Crossing community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Simmonds.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Roxbury Crossing, Suffolk County, MA
Platform Identity bpd.suffolk.ma.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch April 10, 2014
Tour of Duty 6 yrs
Age 28
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Illness
Cause Detail Duty related illness
Weapon Explosives; Bomb

The Sacrifice · Illness

Dennis is one of 2,028 officers lost to illness in the United States, 7.4% of the 27,551 remembered there.

34,117 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

  1. See the roll
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Compare against
I

Time

In 2014, 30 officers in the United States were lost to illness, the 13th heaviest of 108 years on record. The heaviest was 2021, with 564.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

Dennis was 28. Of the 1,996 lost to illness in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 42 and 58; the middle age was 51. Dennis had served 6 years; the middle length of service was 20 years.

Age at death
Where he stood among them
Age by years of service
III

When

April holds 6.9% of these deaths in the United States; October holds the most, 14.9%. Thursdays: 15.7%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Illness deaths account for 7.4% of all 27,551 deaths in the United States, the 3rd most common cause. The weapon recorded was explosives; bomb, in 0% of these deaths.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

Boston Police Department has 106 officers remembered here, Dennis among them.

Across the years
VI

Where

Sergeant Dennis Oliver Simmonds

Boston Police Department · End of Watch April 10, 2014

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 33-E

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