The final (for now) word on Boston

I think I'm done with the Boston bombing case, at least for a little while, unless something startling and new comes up. (Or unless I change my mind.)

No, I don't have answers to the remaining mysteries. I would never dissuade anyone from pursuing the case. But for now, interested readers should do that work elsewhere.

We've reached the point where some people I respect are making claims that I question. If I raise those questions in public, the result might be one of those otiose internet pissing matches that always end up by making all parties look foolish. And who needs that?

As a parting shot, I'd like to direct your attention to this piece in the Boston Globe by Kevin Cullen, who writes in convincing detail about the shootout that ended with the death of Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

As you may know, I have questioned the assertion (made by Watertown's police chief) that Tsarnaev was killed after being struck by an SUV driven by his brother. This claim struck me as dubious because the morgue photo shows a bullet hole and the physician who worked on Tsarnaev said that he saw no evidence of a vehicle impact.

Here's the relevant section from Cullen's piece:

Thinking fast and with sure tactical instincts, Pugliese drove not into the firefight, but down one of the side streets he knows like the back of his hand. He ran through yards in the dark and outflanked the bombers. Pugliese began firing from the side, and police believe that he hit 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev, bringing him down.

Pugliese and a Boston police officer converged on the wounded man and subdued him. They didn’t know where the younger brother, Dzhokhar, had disappeared to until they heard the gunning of an engine. Dzhokhar aimed the stolen Mercedes-Benz SUV at the cops who, in a scene that would not be out of place in a Hollywood film, dove to safety. Tamerlan Tsarnaev wasn’t as lucky. His body was dragged by the car for a short distance before his little brother drove off.

That accounts for the bullet hole in the rib cage. The position of the hole indicates a strike from the side.

As for the SUV hit: Although we still don't have the level of detail we would prefer, it seems that Dzhokhar aimed for the cops, not his brother. I would suggest that, from the driver's point of view, Tamerlan's prone body might have been hidden by the cops who stood around him. As the SUV zoomed toward the officers, they leaped out of the way, making Tamerlan visible -- for an instant. Even if Dzhokhar tried to swerve away or skid to a stop, the body might have been dragged by the car a short distance.

If you have ever accidentally hit a deer carcass in the road, you can visualize this sequence of events.

So it seems that the police chief was both right and wrong. He was right to say that the body was dragged by the SUV. He was wrong when he claimed that the vehicle impact caused death.

Now let's have an explanation as to why the cops used that boat for target practice.