Boston Police Department, Massachusetts
End of Watch: Wednesday, February 10, 1988
Age: 38
Tour of Duty: 18 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Struck by train
Date of Incident: February 10, 1988
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Detective Thomas Gill was struck by an Amtrak train while searching for several firearms that had been stolen in a burglary at a nearby home on Brooksdale Road.
Investigators received a tip that that 14 of the firearms had been concealed in a duffle bag and thrown over a fence onto the railroad tracks in the area of the Stockyard Restaurant, on Market Street, when he was struck. It is believed he did not hear or see the train because of the noise from the adjacent interstate and because the area he was searching was on a sharp curve.
Detective Gill was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War and had served with the Boston Police Department for 18 years. He was survived by his wife and three daughters.