Police describe gunfight, bombs hurled by Boston Marathon bombers

Investigators work near the boat in Watertown, Mass., where police captured Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving Boston Marathon bombing suspect, after a car chase and gun battle earlier in the day left his older brother dead, April 20, 2013. (AP / Katie Zezima)

BOSTON -- Three police officers have described an explosive confrontation with the Boston Marathon bombers as they tried to flee the area days after the attacks.

The Watertown officers testified Monday in the federal death penalty trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. They said they encountered Tsarnaev and his brother, Tamerlan, on a quiet residential street.

The officers said the brothers threw several bombs at them, including pipe bombs and a pressure-cooker bomb similar to those used in the marathon attack.

The officers say Tamerlan Tsarnaev fired at them until he ran out of bullets and was tackled by police. They say Dzhokhar ran over his brother in a stolen car as he escaped. Dzhokhar was later found hiding in a boat.

Jurors went to see the bullet-ridden boat earlier Monday.