Update on 12/14/23

Dear Bentley community,

Arrangements have been made to honor Waltham Police Officer Paul Tracey, who was killed in the line of duty last week. Officer Tracey’s procession will pass our campus tomorrow (Friday) morning on the way to his funeral at Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted Parish on Trapelo Road. 
 
The City of Waltham has asked people to line the streets where the procession will pass to show respect for Officer Tracey’s memory and his 28 years of service to Waltham. Uniformed Bentley University Police will take part in the procession in a show of support for our fallen brother. 
 
If you plan to be on campus and would like to witness the procession and pay your respects, it will pass Bentley’s Forest Street entrance shortly after 9:30 a.m. tomorrow. 

More information about the services for Officer Tracey can be found here. 

Thank you,

Francis G. Bourgeois
Chief of Police
 

Update on 12/12/23

Dear Bentley community,

Last Wednesday, Waltham Police Officer Paul Tracey died tragically after being hit by a car while working a detail. Thousands of uniformed officers from across the region and country will come to Waltham to remember Officer Tracey with his family and friends this Thursday and Friday, and I’m writing to let you know that the services will significantly impact traffic and parking on our campus and surrounding streets. As the timing of these services overlap with final exams at Bentley, please read the details below carefully and prepare in advance of your travel to or around campus at the end of this week. All final exams will continue on schedule as planned. 

• Visiting Officers: In support of the City of Waltham and the Waltham Police Department, we will provide parking to visiting officers so they can be transported by bus to Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted Church on Trapelo Road for the services on Thursday and Friday. The wake is scheduled from 3 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, the funeral service will be at 10 a.m. on Friday, and our campus will likely be impacted during the hours before and after these events. Please know that there will be a very large presence of officers, honor guard members and other uniformed law enforcement personnel on our campus both Thursday and Friday. There will be hundreds of police cruisers, helicopters overhead and flyovers, part of standard procedures for honoring officers who die in the line of duty. This level of police presence will be far out of the ordinary, and we do not want you to be surprised.  
• Accessing Campus and Parking: Students, faculty and staff should use Beaver Street to enter and leave campus on Thursday and Friday as the Forest Street entrance will be dedicated to transporting the visiting officers. Parking lots 1, 2 and 6, which are used largely by first-year and commuter students as well as faculty and staff, and the Bentley Arena lot will be reserved for visiting officers. If you normally park there, please move your car to lots 5, 7, 8 and 9 on both days. All third-party vendors, service providers and those making deliveries are also asked to access and leave campus via Beaver Street.

• Trapelo Road Closure: The City plans to close Trapelo Road for most of the day on both Thursday and Friday to accommodate traffic to the church. This closure along with the high volume of traffic is expected to severely impact traffic in much of the city. Please seek an alternate route and allow for plenty of extra time to get to campus on those days as traffic disruption will be significant.  
• Shuttle Route Change: The Bentley shuttle will be affected as well, and we anticipate delays due to the increased traffic. To support our North campus residents, one shuttle will be dedicated to providing a continuous loop between North campus and the LaCava stop. Check the TransLoc Rider app for up-to-date shuttle locations and tracking information as the shuttle will not be traveling regular routes in and out of campus. 
• Remote Work: Due to the high level of traffic and parking changes, the university is encouraging those who do not need to be on campus Thursday and Friday to work remotely if possible, allowing those involved in final exams to have easier access to campus. Vice presidents will follow up with recommendations and instructions to their divisions and departments.   

This email will be posted on the Bentley website, where we will add any new information. I know this is a busy week when many students are taking final exams, and many families are traveling to campus to pick up their students. I recognize that the increased traffic and parking restrictions will be an inconvenience for some of us.   

For more than 50 years, Bentley has been honored to call the city of Waltham our home. We are humbled to be able to support our fellow officers in Waltham in this time of mourning and grief. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. 

Francis G. Bourgeois 

Chief of Police