not releasing the identity. this is just breaking tonight. yet another u.s. soldier in this case in a leadership position in sexual assault prevention himself under investigation tonight for sexual assault. unbelievable. do you believe this week? now it is time for "the last word with lawrence o'donnell." have a great night. we have breaking news tonight on multiple fronts. first, a little over an hour ago, the president issued this statement in reaction to the treasury inspector general's report on the internal revenue service's handling of applications for tax exempt status by political groups. i have now had the opportunity to review the treasury department watchdog's report on the investigation of irs personnel who improperly targeted conservative groups applying for tax exempt status.

the federal government must conduct itself in a way worthy of the public's trust, and that's especially true for the irs. the irs must apply the law in a fair and impartial way and its employees must act with utmost integrity. this report shows some of its employees failed that test. i directed secretary lew to hold those responsible for this accountable and make sure each of the inspector general's recommendations are implemented quickly so such conduct never happens again. regardless how this conduct was allowed to take place, the bottom line is it was wrong. public service is a solemn privilege. i expect everyone that serves in the federal government to hold themselves to the highest ethical and moral standards, so do the american people, and as president i intend to make sure our public servants live up to those standards. the key finding in the inspector general's report says this: early in calendar year 2010, the irs began using inappropriate

criteria to identify organizations applying for tax exempt status to review for indications of significant political campaign intervention. that is the first sentence of the inspector general's report, and that sentence is not true. in fact, as shown on this program last night, beginning in 1959, the irs began using inappropriate criteria to identify organizations applying for tax exempt status. the treasury and the irs deliberately and inexplicably changed the intent of the law. the code itself defines 501 c 4 social welfare organizations as civic leagues or organizations not organized for profit but operated exclusively, exclusively for the promotion of

social welfare. the interpretation guidelines of the irs then say this as of 1959. to be operated exclusively to promote social welfare an organization must operate primarily to further the common good and general welfare of the people of the community. the irs changed in effect the legal word exclusively to primarily with no authority whatsoever, and the irs has been using that incorrect interpretation guideline since 1959. this is a case of the government being wrong for so long that the government and no one in it seems to know how wrong the government has been. it is entirely possible that no one in the white house counsel's office tonight knows this and no one currently working in

treasury knows this. but even if they do, the obama administration has decided it is now impossible to try to teach the truth to an american news media that is incapable of comprehending it and refuses to read original sources like the laws on which their theoretical scandals are based. and of course when in doubt, a politician can never go wrong in condemning the internal revenue service. joining me now, julian epstein, democratic strategist, and ari melcher. ari, i want to go to unanimous use of the word outrage across the board in the political media about this situation, when in fact the real outrage is that the irs changed the legal

meaning of this provision in 1959 and left it to judgment calls ever since. and it doesn't seem like anyone in the white house or treasury thought there's any way they can get a correct record here, and they might as well jump on the band wagon of saying this is outrageous. >> politically they don't want to fight that battle. nicholas con desore from "the new york times" says what is clear from the report, irs officials don't understand their own regulations, dovetails with what you were saying. i think the larger perspective, what ties some of these so-called scandals together is the fact that republicans won't let go, know exactly what their play book is. reminded when jeannie kilpatrick said there was blame america first crowd. what we have particularly with house republicans is a blame america, blame obama for

everything. any issues, whether someone gets a paper cut in an agency or real problems with first amendment or have benghazi where there were obviously terrible things that happened over there, none of those scandals, though, have anything to do with president obama exerting operational control, yet always it is blame obama first, ask questions later. that's what's most frustrating for people that care about these issues and clearly for the white house. having said that, as someone that practiced first amendment law, there are real issues at what i would call the operational level. viewpoint discrimination is considered the worst kind of first amendment infringement, and the question is for whatever reasons of standing incompetence, whoever has been doing it at the local level needs to be dealt with. one thing i noticed the ap and irs scandal have in common is no one serious, no one impartial suggested in any way that this comes top down from the president. everyone is saying we have to

deal with these problems at the level of the agency or doj investigators. the fact that washington hears obama every time we talk about government suggest just how divided our politics are. >> julian, when you see a law that says a social welfare organization has to be exclusively in the business of social welfare, seems to me if you're at the irs and you're granting tax exempt status on that basis, the word party appearing on the application is suspicion enough, whether that is democratic party, republican party, tea party, communist party, a party is a political organization with political objectives, it is not a social welfare organization. >> that's right, and you're right and you're correct, lawrence, in your interpretation of the law, it has been honored in the breach. what is not clear, who has standing to challenge it to bring it in compliance with the

letter of the law as opposed to how the agencies have been implementing this law for the last 40 or 50 years. that's point one. >> julian, let me interject there, julian, the treasury in this ig's report is saying let's fix this and let's give the irs clear guidelines how to interpret it. that is absolutely impossible as long as you use this vague word "primarily." the guideline they should give them is go to the exclusively standard, just use that and you'll never get in trouble. >> you don't need guidelines when the statute is clear, that's point one. >> right. >> point two, i would disagree a little with ari, it is important to distinguish the irs from benghazi and ap story, the latter two i don't think are a scandal, i don't think there's anything necessarily improper done by the administration. but they had thousands for that

501 c 4 status, on the conservative side. we can all stipulate, should stipulate whatever the standard is, the irs should not selectively enforce the law or selectively apply the standard. what the ig report seems to have shown is exactly what the president and what senior officials inside the administration were saying, which is one, that this inappropriate targeting, and it was inappropriate, was done by low level employees, they were told by superiors to stop, there was no evidence that any of the applications by conservative groups were denied. they were slowed down, perhaps asked inappropriate questions, but ultimately got the 501 c 4 status. most importantly, there was no connection outside the irs to anybody inside the administration in terms of this activity. so there was no showing to anybody in the treasury department or white house or anyone else condoned this, and that's consistent with what the president was saying. >> ari melber, nothing makes the

political media lazier than the ability to use scandal because from that point forward all they do is live in the world of adjectives, how much pressure on so and so, forget the fact basis from which they're supposed to emerge a scandal. going to the ap story, we had eric holder come out, talk about the subpoenas that went out to get phone records of the ap over two-month period. again, this is all covered within law and if there's something scandalous about it, it is the existence of the law that very clearly allows it to happen, and reporters will always and forever think that they are a special class with special laws that apply to them, but unfortunately those laws don't actually exist. >> well, the first amendment, you know, identifies the press and the public as beneficiaries of a range of rights from religion and assembly to freedom of the press itself.

brand enburg v hayes talks about a privilege available to professional reporters, state legislatures have in most states defined that as professional members of the press. so yes, people at home can say now here's a reporter talking about how the news effects them and the press is a constituency group, that will be difficult as the ap story continues, people will question whether the press is overly interested because our rights are at issue. having said that, i spent a lot of time on these issues. the problem the way it was approached on telephone records, it was very broad. i am not suggesting it is illegal, in fact, it may have to your point followed the doj guidelines, but we have to look at aggressive pursuit of leaks and when they are whistleblowers and legitimate leaks that may help us govern versus national security. it is important thing to stay on top of, just don't think it has anything thus far with decisions by president obama.

>> there are some important facts, lawrence. remember what the doj was doing was going after a very limited, they're not investigating ap. what they were looking for with the administrative subpoenas were telephone numbers of people that were calling certain numbers at the associated press because we had overwhelming evidence of a very serious crime committed, namely the leaking and exposure of a cia double agent who had gotten inside al qaeda in yemen and who had exposed and prevented a plot to take down an airliner that could have killed hundreds of americans. it is one of the most serious crimes that could occur against this country, one of the most serious criminal offenses. what the administration is doing, they were fully within the law in terms of just going after what they call toll records, actual phone numbers. no conversations were eavesdropped on. >> julian, i'm sorry, i have to interrupt. we have to leave it there. we have a jam packed show. obviously we will be on this subject, have you both back to talk again. julian especially stone, ari melber, thanks.

>> thanks. coming up, the coordinator of an army sexual assault prevention program is tonight accused of abusive sexual conduct. joy reid will join me on that. and the governor of minnesota will join me. later tonight, my exclusive interview with five watertown police officers that stopped the boston marathon bombers terror spree, the officer that shot tamerlan tsarnaev will tell his story for the first time along with other officers that fought for their lives that night against a hail of bullets and bombs. the heroes who stopped the tsarnaev brothers in their tracks right here in watertown will join me tonight in a last word exclusive to tell america their story for the first time. glass on floors. daily chores. for the little mishaps you feel use neosporin to help you heal.

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the terror spree of the boston marathon bombings ended in the middle of the night in watertown where i am broadcasting this show tonight, a town that borders boston. one of the four watertown police officers on patrol at that time when those bombing suspect came into watertown was joe reynolds who was the first to spot a car that was reported hijacked in nearby cambridge. he told me today what happened when he spotted that hijacked car. >> i located the mercedes near dexter avenue, was coming toward me. he kind of slowed down and i slowed down, kind of made eye contact. at that time i turned my vehicle around, started following him. i radioed to dispatch i had the vehicle in question that we were looking for. >> in your first pass with him, you're going in different directions, he slows down, you slow down, you make eye contact with tamerlan behind the wheel of that car?

>> correct. >> joe reynolds had no idea he was looking at one of the bombing suspects and had no idea that hell was about to rain down on him as he sat alone in his police car. we will have more of my exclusive interview with joe reynolds and the other watertown police officers that dodged bullets and bombs in that final show down with the marathon bombing suspects. but coming up next, breaking news about the sexual assault crisis in the military. another military official stands accused tonight.

in breaking news tonight, a coordinator for the army's

sexual assault prevention program in fort hood, texas is under investigation for abuse i have sexual contact, pandering, assault, maltreatment of subordinates. a defense official tells nbc news the sergeant first class is being investigated for forcing at least one subordinate soldier into prostitution, and for sexually assaulting two other soldiers. the sergeant has been suspended from his duties, but no charges have been filed, and the army will not release his identity. secretary of defense chuck hagel ordered a full investigation tonight. the pentagon press secretary released this statement from hagel. i cannot convey strongly enough secretary hagel's frustration, anger and disappointment over these troubling allegations and the breakdown in discipline and standards they imply to address the broader concerns that have arisen out of these allegations and other recent events, secretary hagel is directing all services to retrain, recredential, rescreen all sexual assault prevention and

response personnel and military recruiters. this news comes days after the head of the air force sexual assault prevention program was arrested and charged with sexual battery after groping a woman in a parking lot. joining me now, msnbc's joy reid. joy, my head is spinning here, forcing a soldier into prostitution? i thought i had read everything already that could happen in one of these cases. >> yeah, lawrence. what's doubly frightening about what's happening now in terms of the two cases, it appears sexual predators, saying allegedly, because these are still charges, are zeroing in on jobs that place them in front of the most vulnerable women, most vulnerable people in the service, people that are already going for counseling because of alleged abuse. so people that are in this position are essentially abusing and putting themselves in position to further abuse and

harm and humiliate and hurt these women. clearly the military has a problem, there's a culture problem, there's a problem in terms of how these cases are handled, and we know there are women in the senate, united states senate led by kir sten jill brand saying if you can't handle your own personnel, they e chain of command.ed outside take chain of command off the table and prosecute predators in the civilian criminal justice system. this is something i know defense secretary chuck hagel doesn't want to do, i don't see how he avoids considering it at this point. >> the women of the senate armed services committee issuing statements, senator jill brand has an outraged statement, she was on the program discussing it last week, senator patty murray says it is sickening. twice in a matter of as many weeks we have seen the people charged with protecting victims of assault as perpetrators.

sickening is the word. and it is just getting more sickening as the cases pile up. >> yeah. what the military has to worry about, the united states military is most respected. but they risk the same taint we saw in the rampant catholic sex abuse scandals, a hierarchy was covering for predators, rather than removing, prosecuting them, turning them over to law enforcement, the military has to make a decision whether or not they are going to allow the entire sort of image of the united states military as a place where women can serve admirably and turning it into a place where predators are protected. prosecution outside the chain of command is a must, must be considered at this point. >> joy, thank you very much for joining us on this breaking news story, which is a scandal. >> absolutely. >> thanks, joy. >> thank you. coming up, the governor of minnesota just signed a bill into law legalizing same-sex marriage in that state. he will join me next. later, my exclusive interview with the police

officers that faced bullets and bombs as they fought to stop the boston marathon bombing suspects. you will hear them tell me their amazing story in their own words. you have never heard anything like this. this is the first telling of their story. that's coming up. ♪ [ slap! ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium-rich tums starts working so fast you'll forget you had heartburn. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums

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so far they've only recovered one gun from this whole incident. was it your impression there that both of the brothers had guns and both of them were

firing? >> i think it appeared because the shots were coming both sides of the vehicle. in my opinion, appeared they were firing more than one firearm. >> that was the watertown police sergeant, jeff pugliese that shot tamerlan sarnds and tackled him, handcuffed him after one of the toughest gun battles in american history. more of his story and his partner's story coming up. ameri. more of his story and his partner's story coming up. in am. more of his story and his partner's story coming up. this day calls you.

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legalize marriage equality. just one republican in the state senate voted for the measure before casting his vote, republican state senator brendan peterson said this. >> and to my kids, cash and paisley, they're two and one, don't understand what's going on today, regardless of whether you one day agree with my position on this issue, i just want to say that in all things related to your faith, to your freedom, to your family, be bold and be courageous and you'll never regret a day in your life. >> governor dayton praised the state legislature for passing the bill. >> by your political courage, you join the pantheon of exceptional leaders that did something truly extraordinary, you changed the course of history for our state and our

nation. >> joining me in a last word exclusive, minnesota governor mark dayton. governor, thank you very much for joining us tonight. >> thank you, lawrence. >> governor, did you feel that this was one of those instances where history was coming your way and history simply could not be denied? >> well, i think history was coming the way of people of minnesota who pride ourselves in being one of the forefront of progressive social change and in this instance in the last year in the election there was attempt to pass a constitutional amendment that would prohibit marriage equality in minnesota forever. instead now we're two and a half months away from legalizing freedom of marriage. >> and governor, many observers say this is a very important milestone because it is the

first midwest state and this could help momentum in that region, particularly possibly influencing illinois to go next. did you feel that this was a special moment to be that first midwestern state? >> well, yes, you know, we again pride ourselves on leading the way. i hope other states follow. we're the 12th. one after another. if you look at the demographics of differences of opinion minnesotans and elsewhere, older generation have more difficulty with this concept, but younger people, they get it overwhelmingly. so the time is on the side of those that want every american to have the same equal protections of the law, 14th amendment of the constitution guarantees. >> governor, your state perplexes some political

observers. you send al franken to the senate, same state that sends michele bachmann to the house of representatives. how do you explain this interesting range in your congressional delegation and what your state politics produce produces? minnesotans have one of the highest voting rates, they take their time, size up candidates and go for the person, not the party. >> governor, when this marriage equality bill started to move in the legislature, did it seem like this was a sure thing all the way through, that the votes were going to be there? >> no, not at all. in fact, at the beginning of the session i think most observers would have said it is not going to pass. senator peterson who you highlighted is one of the real heroes in this, republican

senator who came out early and said he was going to support it. there were four members and republicans in the minnesota house who defied some of the radical right of their party to vote for it. and people ended up voting their own conscience, democrats who are from rural areas, may have challenges next fall because of this who didn't have to vote because it passed with 75-59. but they wanted to vote, wanted to do the right thing and were willing to put their careers on the line because they knew this was the right thing to do. >> well, that's one of the striking things, governor, when you mention that when you got to the finish line had more votes than you needed, and still for people whom it was a political risky vote still cast that vote. that's when you know something historic is happening. >> i think that's exactly what they felt, this was something bigger than even their own re-election. >> governor mark dayton, thank you very much for joining us on

this historic night from minnesota. >> thanks, lawrence. coming up, the boston marathon bombing suspects were on their way out of town but they never made it because some brave watertown police officers stopped them. you will hear those police officers tell you their shocking story for the first time. that's coming up. you make a great team. it's been that way since the day you met. but your erectile dysfunction - it could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use

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hours after their photographs were shown to the world, the suspects murdered a police officer and were headed out with a hijacked car and drove into the adjacent town of watertown. there were only four patrol officers and a supervisor on duty after midnight in watertown then, but that was enough to

stop the bombing suspects in their tracks, that small band of police brothers was not going to let those suspects get out of watertown alive. the small town cops who had never fired their guns in the line of duty risked their lives in the face of bullets and bombs, the kind of assault no other american police officers have ever had to face. and they're all alive to tell their stories tonight, and that is one of the miracles of that amazing night. they told their story for the first time today beginning with officer joe reynolds who was alone in his car when he began following a mercedes that had been reported hijacked earlier that evening. >> i was following the vehicle, you know, he was going pretty slow, so i was kind of keeping my distance, didn't know if he was going to take out, jump out of the car, start running. so at that point he stopped his vehicle and i was probably, you

know, 10, 15 yards away. tamerlan jumped out, started walking towards my cruiser, started firing at me. >> now, this is the strangest moment possibly in the whole story. you are pursuing a car wanted in a carjack, and the person you're pursuing stops, gets out of a car and walks toward a police car. >> right. >> firing a gun. >> yeah. it's crazy. >> what are you thinking at that moment? >> i mean, my first reaction was just to create some distance. he was kind of walking up on me, i had no defense besides the cruiser. i ducked below the dashboard, put the cruiser in reverse, backed up maybe 30 yards, while i backed up, radioed to dispatch shots fired, shots fired. at that time i jumped out, put it in park, used the driver's door for cover.

>> how many shots before you got into reverse. >> nonstop, i couldn't count them. i could hear him ding them off my cruiser. >> you're the first to arrive on the scene that's already an open firefight. what do you see when you arrive? >> as i come around the corner, i see officer reynolds, his vehicle is now in reverse, so i missed the first five, ten seconds of him getting out of the vehicle, starting to fire. i could hear gunshots going off. i heard officer reynolds say shots fired. i put my car in park. as i put my car in park, a round came through the windshield. at the time, you know, i wasn't sure how close it was or what -- how far, how many suspects we had, i didn't know anything yet, but i know someone is getting close with some rounds. so at that time i take cover

behind the engine, which is down low, put it in park, and i'm attempting to get my ar-15 out of the locked container that it's in in our cruiser. i tried two or three times. i couldn't get it out, i thought it was just a matter of time before he's going to zero in and get me, so i made a decision to get rid of the cruiser. stepped on the brake. put it in drive, jumped out, let the cruiser go down range towards the bad guys. >> and you're both out there just with your handguns. >> correct. >> how much ammunition do you have between you at that point? >> i had 40 bullets. >> and i had 27 i believe. >> when does this shift from you've got incoming bullets to suddenly there's bombs? >> almost like 30 seconds. >> yeah, 30 seconds into it, standing next to each other, i think we both saw something

flying through the air, at least i think i said something to you, sergeant, we got to move, said something, and there was a big explosion. we kept running back and forth into the backyard, trying to get better cover. >> who do you think is the next person that gets there on scene? >> officer cologne. i make it on deck, i can hear the shots. i see officer reynolds behind. right now what i saw when i came in, he was behind his cruiser, 465 was a little back, then saw sergeant mcclellan behind his cruiser, and they were both exchanging gunfire. i just fear that he did not have the right cover at that time. so i placed my cruiser between his cruiser and officer reynolds' cruiser. i don't know what i did, i just -- my first thing again is take fire away from him, so i opened the door, put the spotlight towards them, and received fire right getting aro

car, let off a few rounds, then i see something thrown at us and i could only see the fuse, almost something lit up, going off in the middle of the road. >> who got there next at this point? >> i would say i probably arrived next. >> what did you hear? were you on duty, off duty? >> i started heading their way. got about a quarter mile from the police station here, that's when i heard the shots, shots fired. i think i made it the mile and a half in about 30 seconds down to where they were. and as i'm pulling up, i could hear the gunfire. [ gunfire ] kind of assessed things. let me see if i can get around and flank them. so i decide to cut down the front of the house that we were

by, down the side yard, over a couple of fences into different backyards and came up on the suspect's left side. i decided to try taking a couple of skip shots, you shoot at the ground, try to ricochet the round out, try to take them out at the ankles. tried a couple rounds like that. that's when ultimately turns out it was tamerlan realized i was there, left his position of cover, came running up the sidewalk firing at me, caught up between a car and chain-link fence, that fence separated the yard i was in, and he ran up about five feet up that driveway, confronted me, and started firing at me. he was about six or eight feet from me, firing his pistol at me. i was firing at him. i had run out of ammunition, had to do a reload in the middle of that. he had a problem with his firearm. i don't know if he jammed or

what, kind of looked at his gun, then threw it at me, hit me in the left bicep here, turned, ran back down the driveway to the street, took a left running towards the other officers on scene and i holstered up, chased after him, tackled him. you know, he didn't, you know, get thrown back, it is not like the movies where you shoot somebody and they're thrown 10, 15 feet back, that's not reality. people can take the bullets and keep on fighting. >> tim, when did you come into this? >> i was by the cruiser, i knew if he was going to get away, he would kill more innocent people. i engaged him in gunfire. once i couldn't shoot him based on distance, i turned around, heard somebody hit, he went down to the ground, said i'm hit in the groin. right away, are you going to be okay. even if he's not going to be,

you're telling him he is going to be okay, his leg opened like a faucet, blood everywhere, i was kneeling next to him, pull a tourniquet out of my pocket. me and another officer try to put it on, the shot was too high on the groin for that tourniquet, then almost a cpr move, put my hand into the wound, blood was ballooning around us. he quickly lost consciousness, went pale white, and harvard university police officer and boston police arrived with a medical bag, give an option, chest compressions, had to rip-off his vest, calling for rescue, my brother, a firefighter gets out of driver passenger side, comes up with jimmy caruso. >> your brother showed up with the ambulance. >> we locked eyes, he was like

thank god you're not on the ground, thought maybe i might have been. >> he heard the radio traffic there was an officer down, was worried it could be his brother, tim. >> first reports was that a watertown police officer was down, didn't know if i was off duty. we saw each other, just that moment of recognition in the eyes, and officer done hue in the air, tossed in the ambulance with my brother and jimmy, and then a paramedic got in the back, they started to work on him. a transit officer, who is going to help drive to the hospital. >> the team that drove this ambulance there is now in the back trying to save the life, so the regular driver is back there trying to save officer donahue's life. >> they worked to save him, i hopped in the driver's seat, tear off out of there, try to get to the hospital as fast as possible. >> you had never driven one of these before?

>> now, that's what i take out of all of this, you know, this i call for help, we're in a small town, four cruisers on the street, one supervisor, i call for help during a firefight, and by the end of the firefight we have officers from different communities in our community helping us, so he comes to save our lives and they end up saving his life, which is a perfect circle as far as i'm concerned. that's the super bowl of police work, saving another police officer's life. it wasn't like they pulled him out of the way or pulled him out of a burning building or out of a car, this officer was dead and they kept him alive with oxygen and pumping his chest and to me, you know, his wife has a husband and child has a father because of these two right here. >> let's go to the strangest thing in this story, joe, which is this moment that you lived

through alone which is you're in pursuit, he stops, they stopped and get out of the car. i have never heard of this in police pursuit of anyone, this stop and getting out of the car, walking toward a police officer in a car and shooting. >> you know, he hadn't activated his lights or anything, didn't let them know technically that he was interested in stopping them or anything else. you know, they just stopped dead in the middle of the road, started attacking him. you know, so like i said, it wasn't a pursuit. i think those words are misleading. >> you also have to remember, they had everything that they have done before this, they have won. they placed bombs, got away with it. they assassinated a cop, they got away with it. they carjacked this guy, they got away with it. they're starting to think we can do whatever we want. we're going to do whatever we want, going to take it, next cop

we see, we're going to take it to him. luckily, it was us and we acted the right way, came together as a team and thank god they're where they should be and we're where we should be. >> after all of that the only thing that made those guys uncomfortable in our conversation today was when i called them heroes. we will have more of what they had to say in just a moment. frds frds ly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. it put me at ease that you could smoke on the first week. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these stop taking chantix

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noticed about real heroes is that they don't like being called heroes, and that's certainly true of the heroes of the watertown police department who stopped the boston marathon bombing suspects in their tracks, and our conversation today, i called them heroes

several times, each time each one of them shrugged it off. >> after 33 years of doing this, here is this moment. do you in that moment ever think i have a duty to my family to survive this, i have to limit my personal risk because we're going to have enough reinforcements come here to eventually get these guys. >> you can't think like that. my wife and children is not going to want to hear that, my daughter is not going to want to hear that, but you cannot think like that. i mean, this is our job. police officers get paid for what they may have to do, not what they do every day, and that was our job that night. we had to do it. i mean, if not us, who's going to stop them? i mean, a civilian stop them or they go out and kill more civilians, we can't let them do that. we had to do what we did. >> what's the effect of this on the watertown police department?

>> i think it has brought great pride to all the officers in the department, and i think it has brought everybody closer, you know. i see that there's more of a closeness within the department than there was before because people realizing that geez, you know, i might not be talking to joe or tim or john or migel or jeff, he might not have been here today if things had gone differently. and i just think there's a closeness that wasn't -- there's always been a closeness, but it brought us even closer. people realize their co-workers, they could have been burying them. >> that we could do that ten more times and you'd have to put an x through one of us or more of us and say funeral time for that person, we're very lucky. >> it's an amazing combination of decisions that you guys made

that were all right, that saved all the law enforcement lives that were on that scene that night. that seems like more than luck to me. >> had a good crew that night. >> i know what it was, i know what it was. >> what was it? >> we had a lot of help from above, no doubt. no doubt. >> well, it's inconceivable that the job could have been done better or could have been done more heroically, i am going to call you heroes whether you like it or not. >> thank you. >> thank you very much for this, really appreciate it. >> thank you. >> if you're lucky, you are being served and protected in your local police department tonight by officers like tim menton, miguel colon, jeff pugliese. that's the last word from a lucky place called watertown. chris hayes is up next.

tonight, we already have the results of that investigation. i have the report here. right in my hot, little hands. and it's a stunning look at an organization and bureaucracy totally, completely overwhelmed, in the aftermath of citizens united. also, i'll tell you about angelina jolie's brave admission in "the new york times" and the spot line it shines on the high cost of affordable health care. plus, an revelation by newt gingrich that is even more jaw-dropping than when he was leading the polls in the presidential nomination. lest you not believe that today was a big news day,e