Grass-Roots Support for Philly's Embattled Cops

On Halloween morning in 2007, police officer Chuck Cassidy of the city's 35th district pulled up to a local Dunkin' Donuts to perform a routine security check and perhaps grab a fresh cup of joe to begin his work day. The bright sunshine of the morning combined with the lesser light inside the shop made it impossible for him to see inside the establishment. Little did he know as he pulled open the door to that innocent coffee and donut shop, one that he had entered many times before, that it would be the last door he would ever open. Inside was an armed robber who turned and fired a gunshot into Cassidy before the officer ever knew what hit him. Thus began the most deadly string of murders of Philly's Finest in decades. Just seven months after Cassidy's murder, in May of 2008, Sergeant Steve Liczbinski responded to a robbery in progress taking place at a bank branch inside a supermarket of his 24th police district. It would be the final call of his career, as Liczbinski was also gunned down in cold blood by the robbers. Philly cops and their supporters mourned the loss of these two popular officers throughout the summer of 2008. Little did they know it was not over yet. Not nearly. In early September the city's police were again driven to shock when officer Isabel 'Izzie' Nazario was killed. She and her partner were involved in a vehicular pursuit of a stolen car, though not in direct pursuit, when the driver suddenly emerged from a blind intersection and slammed into their cruiser at full speed. The loss of a third officer in less than a year seemed like dirt being rubbed into an already open wound. Then the unthinkable happened. Just a couple of weeks later, still in September, officer Pat McDonald pulled over a vehicle for a simple traffic violation, something that many of the city's police officers do every single day, something that I did hundreds of times. Only this would be Pat's final car stop. This time the driver was a wanted man, and he decided to shoot and kill Pat McDonald rather than risk returning to jail. It was official, Philly's cops were under siege. People were taking shots at us, running from us, physically challenging us like never before. The thug mentality had overcome the city, and race became a part of the issue as each of the cop-killers faces flashed across television screens. Former Mayor John Street's notorious statement that "the brothers and sisters are running this town now" seemed to be taking on a gangsta tone. Something was seriously wrong here in Philly, and many of our citizens stepped forward with words of condolence and togetherness, some even with anger at what was happening. But did they then go back to their communities, to their families, and begin to make real changes that would back up their words? Less than two months later, Sergeant Tim Simpson, a fellow supervisor in the exact same squad of officers in which Steve Lisczbinski had worked at the time of his murder, responded to yet another robbery call. Like Lisczbinksi, it would be Simpson's final call. As he responded to the robbery he entered the intersection of Aramingo and Allegheny Avenues. Here a drunk driver in a speeding Camaro slammed into Simpson's cruiser. The 24th district had lost their 2nd Sergeant in six months, and Philly's cops had lost their fifth officer in under a year. A long, cold winter of grieving got underway, and in the middle of it just about two weeks ago, young 25-year old father-to-be John Pawlowski and his partner pulled up on a disturbance on the highway involving an argument between two men. When Pawlowski confronted the aggressor, this male pulled the trigger on a gun which he had concealed in the pocket of his jacket. As officer Pawlowski's partner drew his gun and killed the assailant, John fell to the ground, the sixth Philly cop killed in the line of duty in less than a year and a half. There have been 7 Philadelphia police officers killed in the line of duty stretching to the robbery-murder of officer Gary Skerski in May of 2006. The violence against the police officers who are trying their best to protect the citizens of an increasingly hostile city was just too much for a young woman by the name of Courtney Agger. Not the wife or family member of an officer, Courtney was just a young woman in her twenties who was among the many who were sick and tired of all of the attacks on cops. She wanted to do something, and in the spirit of the 21st century she took to the internet. A member of the 'Facebook' community that is perhaps today's most popular internet gathering place, Courtney started a grass-roots effort to organize a march in support of Philly cops, and in remembrance of all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, both in recent years and throughout the past. Her little Facebook group advertised a march to take place on Sunday, March 1st, 2009 beginning near the Skatezone facility in Northeast Philadelphia and proceeding around the Northeast Airport to the home of Philly's 8th police district at Academy & Red Lion Roads. She likely envisioned dozens, perhaps hundreds if it went well, of her friends and other sympathizers marching in support. Little did she know the power of both the internet and of her cause. At yesterdays march, thousands turned out in an overwhelming outpouring of emotion and support for Philadelphia's embattled police force. There were a number of police brass and union officials on hand, regular officers like myself, as well as numerous friends and family members. T-shirts, sweatshirts, wristbands, flags and other items were sold. In the week leading up to the march, Philadelphia police detective Al Ford was attempting to serve a warrant when he was shot in the leg. Another officer returned fire and killed Ford's assailant. Ford was taken to the hospital and is going to be okay, but his shooting highlights that this is far from over. As a color guard led Sunday's procession, Courtney had to allow herself to feel just a little pride for what she had accomplished. It was completely justified. Grass-roots support from the community such as that showed by Courtney Agger is absolutely appreciated and even needed by the Philadelphia Police Department. We have been seriously demoralized by what has happened in recent months, and outreach such as this sincerely touches us all and reminds us of why we do what we do, that it is important to continue, and that it actually affects peoples lives.

Numb...Again

Another Philadelphia police officer lies dead this morning. He was only 25 years old. His young wife is now a widow as she carries their first and only child in her womb, a child that won't be born until the coming summer is almost over. A child that will never know it's father, never even get to meet him. He is John Pawlowski of the PPD's 35th district, and he is the 7th Philly cop to be killed in the line of duty in the past 33 months. I remember a time when it seemed that we lost a brother or sister officer every few years. Now we don't even get six months, and often it's been much less. There was a time when it made me sad and angry. But the wave of murders of our officers over the past couple years has simply left me numb. I can't even watch the stories on TV anymore beyond the headlines to get the basic facts. I am well aware that the danger is part of the job for which we have all signed up, but I want it to just all stop, even if just for a couple years. Part of the problem for cops is that we do a job that few others could ever possibly relate to, but we can all relate to one another. No matter what our current responsibilities in this career that we have chosen, we were all John Pawlowski at some point. We all put on the uniform and the badge, strapped the gun to our hip, slid behind the wheel of a marked police car, and slipped out into the night to patrol the streets of Philadelphia. It is alternately thrilling and dangerous, exciting and deadly. It is sometimes slow, but rarely boring. And always, always, there is the next corner to turn, around which may lie one of the funniest things that you've ever seen, or the end of your life. You work those streets as a cop in a squad of men and women who become your extended family. You are with them almost every day or night in those circumstances and situations. Especially as a young person in your early years on the job, you form a bond in that squad that will never leave you. My squad was special to me, and always will be. It included my own brother, Mike Veasey, with whom I had the absolute pleasure to work with as a partner for a few years. It included others who I will also always carry in my heart: Dave Lee, Juan Perez, Lisa Collins, Tom McComesky, Bob Donahue, Joe Kramer, Tommy DiFlorio, Aaron Horn, Chris Faber, Kevin Bethel, Thom Hoban, Stevie Susson, Denise McDonough, Nick Campolongo, Herbie Felder, Kevin Wong, Charlie Kelly, Ray Plymouth, Anne Klineburger, Eddie Blunt, Patti Parks, Bobby Bonds, Dominic Tursi, Dennis Andraczak, Tommy Key, Gary Burrell, Louie & Stephanie Velazquez, and many others. There are so many people that touch you on this job, that you lean on to get you through the tough times, that you laugh with during the good times. Not only those folks in your own squad, but also those in the other squads within your district, and other cops all over the city, and the many business and community people that become a part of our everyday lives. Working the streets is addictive. It is an experience that is difficult to describe. Having that kind of respect from most people, experiencing that affection from folks you don't even know, and carrying the burden of the power that the people have bestowed on you that includes taking away someone's freedom and even their life. Only police officers who have worn that uniform and stepped out on those patrols will ever know that feeling. This was the life that young John Pawlowski was living, the same one that I lived, that my brother lived, that our father lived. The same one that every street cop has lived. It is what makes losing John, and all the others in recent months and years, so very difficult. It is always worth mentioning them all by name, because what has happened recently will forever link them: Gary Skerski, Chuck Cassidy, Steve Liczbinski, Isabel Nazario, Pat McDonald, Tim Simpson and now John Pawlowski. We are them. They are us. It is Valentine's Day, and a young woman carrying a baby should be waking up to her young husband and thinking about things like cards and flowers and candy and dinner. Instead she has to plan a funeral. I am numb...again.

What Lies Ahead in 2009?

When the calendar turned from 2007 into 2008 a year ago, how many would have been able to envision so many of the events that would transpire in the new year. Pretty much everyone knew that there was going to be a tough, divisive political race in the Presidential election campaign. But how many just one year ago would have given Barack Obama much of a chance against Hillary Clinton? Not many. Clinton had been the 'presumptive nominee' of the Democratic Party for a couple of years leading into 2008. And how many of you had ever heard of Sarah Palin, let alone knew that she was the governor of Alaska? The media-driven Obamamania of the past year showed that the man can campaign. But can he lead a nation? We will begin to find that out as certainly one of the biggest stories of the year unfolds. In just a couple of weeks Obama will be sworn in as the first half African-American President in U.S. history. That will indeed be one of the biggest moments of 2009, but the real stories will be how the new Obama administration handles domestic and world events during the year. From Iraq to Israel, Afghanistan to India, Pakistan to Iran, the Middle East will remain a cauldron bubbling with potential Islamism-inspired disasters. The U.S. economy continues to struggle thanks to the short-sightedness of government bailouts of failing businesses, a situation that is only likely to worsen in the new year. The new President may need to make a Supreme Court nomination in 2009. SCOTUS Justice John Paul Stevens will turn 89 years old in April, and likely only held on to his court seat hoping to be replaced by a similarly liberal thinker, now more likely with the Obama election. Who will be among the famous deaths in 2009? In the last year we lost silver screen legend Charlton Heston, director Sydney Pollack, politician Jesse Helms, and musicians Bo Diddley & Levi Stubbs among many others. Closer to home our Philadelphia police department had lost officer Chuck Cassidy at Halloween in 2007, that coming on the heels of having lost officer Gary Skerski who was similarly shot and killed by a robber in spring of 2006. Who could have imagined that 2008, rather than offering a quiet respite from those tragedies, would heep on even more with the murders of four officers in the line of duty: Steve Liczbinski, Isabel Nazario, Pat McDonald, and Tim Simpson. We can only hope and pray that 2009 is a quiet, safe year for our police officers and fire fighters in Philly. We certainly deserve that much. On a lighter, brighter note, who could have foreseen the stunning, thrilling rise of the Philadelphia Phillies to a World Series championship. The antics of Charlie Manuel, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Brad Lidge, Brett Myers, Shane Victorino and company brought sports excitement that the city had not seen for a long time, and finally ended our quarter-century title drought. Can any other Philly team step up and take us on a similar ride in 2009? Across the country, around the world, and right at home in our own families 2009 will likely prove to be a year of changes, challenges, and highlights. There is no such thing as a true crystal ball. There is no one who can foresee the events of the coming year. We just have to let them play out while working them to the best for ourselves and our families when possible. Remember that through it all, God has a plan, both for humanity overall and for you in particular. Stay strong, keep a positive attitude, and always remember to turn to Him for help in times of struggle and in thanks during the good times.

Another Auld Lang Syne

In 1788, 29-year old Scottish poet Robert Burns sat himself down and wrote a poem that he titled 'Auld Lang Syne', which would literally translate today into "old long since", "long long ago", or even "days gone by." It was similar in phrasing and verse to a 1711 work by James Watson, and Burns himself stated that his work was based on an older one. The song that is traditionally sang today as we ring out an old year and ring in a new one, as we will tonight at midnight, is attributed to Burns and includes the spirit of the older Watson work with Burns own work blended into it. The spirit being that in celebrating another 'auld lang syne' we are remembering days or times that have gone before. People in our lives, events, places that have been important to us. This has been the practice stretching back for a couple of hundred years now, as the Scots celebrated a new year with the song and spread this custom into England, then further on into America and around the world. It became a true New Year's Eve staple when in 1929 band leader Guy Lombardo began to use it in his radio and later his television broadcasts as his signature song to ring in the new year. In modern times we take the song to be a last look back at what has happened in our lives and in our world over the past year, and then look forward to a new start in a new year. In 1981, pop singer Dan Fogelberg released the song 'Same Old Lang Syne', which has become a popular radio staple here in America during the Christmas holidays. In the hauntingly melancholy Fogelberg song, the main character has a chance encounter in a grocery store on Christmas Eve with an old lover. They embark on a brief reunion over a few drinks and shared memories, but in the end must move away from that moment's reflection on 'the good old days' and back into the reality of their lives and their futures, which do not include one another. As I look back on my life, there are many similar people as in the Fogelberg song. People who still hold a solid place in my heart, who in fact will always hold that place. I look back on them in fondness from time to time, but then move forward again with my life as it is today. That those former friends and lovers are no longer an active part of that life makes most of them no less special to me. So as I look back on 2008 tonight, there are many people and events that I will remember with fondness that are particular to this past year. At the top of the list is a welcome to the world to my new grandson, Reznor Lydon Lloyd. Then there are the new co-workers whom I got to know in my first year at the police department's Advanced Training Unit. The classmates and teachers that I met during my final year at St. Joseph's University added to my year. On the big stage of local and world events there was the incredible Phillies World Series run, and in politics the emergence of a strong conservative woman in Sarah Palin. Those were the "hello's", there are always the goodbyes. This past year, fortunately for me, there were few family members in that category. However, four of my fellow Philly cops lost their lives this year in the line of duty. And so my 'auld lang syne' will include Steve Liczbinski, Isabel Nazario, Pat McDonald, and Tim Simpson. I look forward to 2009 with hope for better times for my children and grandchildren, and hope for continued health and happiness for myself and my wife Debbie. The new year will ultimately bring incredible drama across the world, stories that we cannot envision at this moment. I hope and pray that, for the most part, they bring positive developments for most of the world's inhabitants. Tonight as the ball drops and the countdown ends, we will celebrate another auld lang syne. I wish you all and all of your family members a very happy, healthy, safe, fun, prosperous New Year in 2009.

Goodbye, Tim Simpson

I didn't find out until about five minutes ago. Last night, I went to bed at around 11pm, so I missed the news at that time. Just waking up this morning, I poured myself the first cup of coffee of the day, and fired up the computer. Then a local news anchor said those words on TV: "Our top story, the Philadelphia Police Department is again in mourning this morning..." My head whipped around to the TV screen. Sergeant Tim Simpson of the 24th district was dead, killed in a horrific car crash at approximately 10:45pm last night. He was killed at Aramingo & Allegheny while responding to a robbery call, possibly by a drunk driver who was speeding. This is the 2nd officer killed in an auto accident in the last few months, with Izzy Nazario killed back in the late summer. It is the 4th Philly cop killed this calendar year, the 5th in the last year, the 6th on-duty in 2 1/2 years stretching back to Gary Skerski's murder in spring of 2006. With Walter Barclay's death from wounds that he received decades ago in a shooting, it marks the 7th Philly cop to die of an on-duty incident in that time period. My stomach flips again, and I say a prayer for the officer, his family and friends, his co-workers, and all police officers. It's beyond ridiculous now. We got almost, almost, a two month break this time. We deserve years without such tragedy at this point. They all need to be remembered as a group: Walt Barclay, Gary Skerski, Chuck Cassidy, Steve Liczbinski, Isabel Nazario, Pat McDonald, and now Tim Simpson. Ironically, it was Simpson who had worked closely with Liczbinski, and was the officer given the responsibility of cuffing the murderer of his fellow Sergeant and former partner just this past spring. We will again cover our badges with mourning crepes, again put on our blouse coats, again make funeral arrangements, again bury a fellow officer. This time it will be a brother with a wife and children who we will bury at Thanksgiving. To make matters possibly worse to me, I saw a picture of the officer. He looked a lot like an officer who I served with in the 6th district, Terry Simpson, and I wonder if they are related, possibly brothers. That would make an already intolerable situation even more personal, with my own brother also on the job and both of us knowing Terry. We will find out more of these details in the coming hours and days, but there is one thing that we already know. The Philadelphia Police Department has a very dark cloud hanging over it right now. The winter cold has settled over the area this morning, the first real morning of frost. It feels even colder now. This has to end. Doesn't it?

The One That Got Away

It was just after 1:00 AM in the typically freezing cold early morning hours of Friday, January 30th, 1970. It was just three weeks earlier that the Beatles had performed together in the studio for the final time, and since the new soap opera 'All My Children' had made its debut on television. The remnant of a previous snowfall still coated the ground as rookie Philadelphia police officer Fred Cione pushed his red patrol car around the corner and into the 1700 block of west Oxford Street in the city's 23rd district. My wife, the former Debbie Marshall Howe, grew up just two doors from the Cione family on east Huntingdon Street in the city's Kensington area. As a 14-year old budding adolescent at that time she already recognized that Freddie, a single Vietnam vet, was 'really handsome' and 'built'. As this handsome 25-year old rookie cop drove around that night he came upon three men walking the streets, and found something suspicious about them, or their behavior, or just the fact of them being on the streets in that location on that kind of night. In any event, the only thing we really do know is that Freddie got out and approached the three, and that one of them opened up on him with three gunshots, one of which went into this chest and another into his gut. The men ran off, and Freddie was left to die like a dog in a North Philly gutter. That was almost three full decades ago. Just last week I was teaching a CPR class at the department's Advanced Training Unit, and one of the cops in attendance wore the nametag 'Cione'. I asked if he was a relative of Fred's, and the young man responded that he was Fred Cione's nephew. I am quite sure that he has heard the story a number of times already in his life since his own father, Freddie's brother Nick, became a Philly cop after his brother's death, and two of Nick's own sons subsequently have become cops. The murder of Fred Cione on that cold January night came back to me in the past couple of days as we here in Philly suffered the murder of yet another of our young stars, police officer Pat McDonald, the fifth Philly cop to be murdered in the last 2 1/2 years. But there is one big difference between the murders of Pat McDonald and other Philadelphia officers murdered in the line of duty like Chuck Cassidy, Gary Skerski, Steve Liczbinski, Izzy Nazario, Danny Faulkner, Lauretha Vaird, Steve Dmytryk, Danny Boyle, and Leddie Brown and the murder of Fred Cione. The big difference is that the murder of Fred Cione is the only murder of a Philadelphia police officer that was never solved. Police Commissioner Frank Rizzo and his top investigators were never able to find anything to solve the case: no real suspects, no murder weapon, no motive. The police Homicide Unit has never let the case die, assigning top detectives to take a new look at it every so often, but no one has ever come up with any substantive leads. The only reliable witness, a female, was brought in to look at thousands of photos over the years, but was never able to identify anyone. The case remains the ultimate frustration for all of us as Philadelphia police officers. When one of us goes down on the job at the hands of a bad guy, the very least that we expect is that our brothers and sisters will hunt our killer down to the ends of the earth, and bring that killer to justice, one way or another. The three young men whom it was the unfortunate fate of Freddie Cione to run into on that cold, dark night so long ago now remain four ghosts that we need to exorcise. If we cannot ever solve Freddie's particular case, which we must always be open to doing, we must vigorously investigate all those that will come along in the future. Think about and remember Freddie Cione as you drive past his mural, painted on the Aramingo Avenue side of his neighborhood rec center just south of Lehigh Avenue. He shares the mural with Joey Friel, another neighborhood native killed on-duty. We not only must never forget Fred Cione, but we must specifically remember him and his case, and never allow justice to elude us again.

Point a Gun at a Cop, We Will Kill You

Today's online editions, and I understand the print edition as well, of the Philadelphia Daily Liberal Rag, er, Daily News quotes a 'nearby resident' in the area where police officer Pat McDonald was gunned down as saying "Cops are always using unnecessary force instead of trying to defuse the situation. That is someone's son that is lying dead there. We aren't ever told anything. All we know is that another young black man is dead and another cop is dead, too. They want us to give the cops respect, but the cops don't respect us." If I were the intrepid reporter interviewing this particular enabler my next question would be: "Who is us?" Who is it that the cops don't respect, first of all, and secondly, why should cops, or anyone for that matter, respect you? The fact is that from the families that raise them, or should I say frequently don't bother to raise them, to the neighbors who turn a blind eye, to the politicians that paint them as victims and perform the ultimate act of enabling, there is an entire community of people both in this city and around the nation whose off-spring are turning into animals. Not "someone's son", but someone's spawn. A 'son' is defined by Webster's as "a human male offspring, especially of human beings." The word to define Daniel Giddings, as well as Danyea Phillips who shot two undercover Philly Cops back in 2007, John Lewis who killed P/O Chuck Cassidy, Eric Floyd who was one of the killers of Sgt. Steve Liczbinski, Solomon Montgomery who killed P/O Gary Skerski, and many more including the young one who stole a car and smashed into P/O Isabel Nazario, killing her instantly, is simply 'animal'. These animals have an obvious common denominator that was covered in my November 1st, 2007 piece titled "Black Males Are Killing Us", but they are not the only big problem in and of themselves. The interviewee of the DN article today who attempted to pass off some of the blame on Philly Cops is a huge part of the problem. Also perhaps playing an even bigger role is the family, who showed up in the aftermath, many in muslim garb, as one person wailed "He was a muslim! They killed him!". My response to that individual would be "So what?" Who cares if the murdering animal named Daniel Giddings was a muslim, or a worshiper of the sun god Rah? What does that matter in any way? The guy is a lifetime cancer in the community. He has repeatedly committed numerous felonies, including while in prison. He was a menace to society who clearly practiced the anarchy that those around him preached. The 'us' likes to cry that the problem is with 'the Man', even though the real problem lies with the community itself. Well here is my answer to anyone else who chooses to draw a weapon on Philadelphia police officers. Just as responding P/O Rich Bowes deservedly did to Giddings in an outstanding example of police work, so shall we do to the rest of you: we will kill you. You might get lucky and either get the drop or ambush one of us, but you cannot escape us all. You aren't big enough to take us all, we have folks bigger and badder than the baddest you have to offer. Your gang isn't big or strong enough. Ours has over 6,000 members in just the local chapter alone, we wear and bleed blue, and we all legally carry guns and other weapons on us, as well as being all linked by high-tech radio systems. You can't run far enough if you do happen to initially slither away. There has only been one murder of a Philly Cop in our history who went without capture, and that one was well over three decades ago. We practice with our weapons regulary, the state mandates it. Our department guides us and trains us in how and when to use our guns as well. But one thing that is certain: if you point a gun at a Philadelphia police officer, you are pointing it at the entire city. And now, after a number of us have had to pay the ultimate price for the work that your family and neighbors and community were unwilling to do in your formative years, we will no longer hesitate. Many cops who are killed are ambushed by cowards like those listed here. But there have also been cops in the past who have hesitated to pull their guns and shoot. Some feared the simple act itself. Some feared the ramifications of desk duty, and ACLU or media or community protests and negative reporting. Some feared unfair treatment at the hands of overzealous and two-faced politicians who want to talk the 'tough cookie' talk, but never back up those of us who have walked the tough walk on a daily and nightly basis. But today there is no one who is in fear of using their weapon. We will use them within guidelines, but make no mistake about it, we will use them. You see, we want to return home to our family tonight. We want to go home and watch the Phillies pennant race, or the Eagles game. We want to make that class to obtain our college degree. We want to see our kids dance recital or ball game. Unlike these animals and most of their enablers, we care about our communities, our families, and our lives. We will not allow you to take them from us, or us from them, any longer. If you point a gun at a Philly Cop, plain and simple, we will kill you. If any politician or other 'leader' thinks that is harsh, then maybe you need to take our guns away from us. Because otherwise, we not only will use them to defend ourselves and the public-at-large, but we are required to use them for those purposes. We do not need to wait until a bullet is screaming on it's way towards our body before we pull the trigger. We do not need to 'wait until they get one off' first. We do not need to put our lives in mortal danger when someone pulls a gun and begins to point it at us. What we need to do is what we now will do, which is what we are trained to do with our guns: we will kill you. We are not trained to 'wing' anyone. We are trained to aim for center mass as best as possible. That is often a kill shot. That message needs not be sanitized. Instead, it needs to get out there in the community and reach the ears of the drug dealers, terrorists, lifetime felons, and other neighborhood cancers who would do us harm. Point a gun at a cop, and we will kill you. Plain and simple.

Another Philly Cop Killed

P/O Patrick McDonald, a member of the Philadelphia Police Department's elite Highway Patrol unit, was gunned down this afternoon in North Philadelphia. Two officers in total were shot, with one of them in stable condition. This marks the 2nd Philly Cop in two weeks, the 3rd in four months, the 4th in less than a year, and the 5th in the last 2 1/2 years to be killed in the line of duty. A more lengthy article on the officer and the situation will come in the next few days. Please pray for the officers and their families. Pictured here are the previous four: Gary Skerski, Chuck Cassidy, Steve Liczbinski, Isabel Nazario (left to right).

Isabel's Sacrifice

There is no way that I can get into the life and mind of Isabel Nazario last night, but let me paint you a picture of a normal night that would lead up to what happened to her that might bring it more closely home for you. First let's start with the fact that Isabel is a 40-year old mom and also a Philadelphia police officer, working for the Narcotics Strike Force. This unit is an active, on-the-streets, in-the-face-of-the-drug-dealers group that works every day to keep the city and its residents safe from the scourge of the illegal narcotics that are at the root cause of most other crime. Isabel and her unit are the people that 'hit the houses' of the dealers, that actively patrol the streets of the neighborhoods that are the worst infected. They chase down, get directly into the faces of, put their hands and cuffs on, and sometimes get into armed confrontations with drug dealers at all hours of the day and night. They also have a tremendous camaraderie within their group that comes from the both the respect that their day-to-day job enjoins and from the sharing of their personal lives and family stories. Isabel Nazario is the mother of a teenage daughter who was herself likely enjoying her first Friday night of the school year, perhaps anticipating shopping or some other activity with her mom over the weekend. I am absolutely certain that Isabel had her daughter on her mind any number of times while patrolling the streets of Southwest Philly last night. Maybe thinking about clothes that she wanted to pickup for her for the new school year. Maybe about getting some shopping done the next day for lunch or dinner. Maybe hoping that she was making good decisions on this Friday night, should she be hanging out with friends, especially the boys that become so much of the concern to those of us who are or have been parents of teenage girls. There is every chance that Isabel and her partner, Terry Tull, had stopped for some dinner during the evening. They likely strolled into some local eatery and grabbed a sandwich or a platter, sat down, and enjoyed a meal while talking about their families, maybe about a job that they had responded to earlier, perhaps about some situation involving a co-worker. Even if they just stopped for a cup of coffee, there is one thing that is absolutely certain. Neither one of them was considering that this would be the final hours of their life. Shortly before ten o'clock on Friday night, a call came over police radio that another unit was in pursuit of a vehicle. This vehicle was a white SUV, and it was traveling through the streets at a high rate of speed. What the information was unable to supply at that point was that the driver was a 16-year old who didn't have a license and who was under the influence of some substance, be it alcohol or drugs or both. Terry was driving, Isabel was the passenger, and they proceeded southbound on 39th Street towards Wallace Street, trying to maneuver into the area where they believed the SUV would be going. They were hoping that, if they were able to get into a position to help, that perhaps they could pull the vehicle over and take a dangerous driver off the streets. Like most rowhouse neighborhoods of Philly, the intersection of 39th and Wallace is difficult to see down one street from another. You would have to completely stop and look down the block to see any possible oncoming traffic. It is likely that Terry did just this as he got to the intersection. He pulled up at the stop sign and stopped their patrol vehicle, they both glanced at Wallace Street and saw that traffic was clear, and Terry then pulled their cruiser out to cross the intersection. What they were unable to see in the dark, in that short distance, in that short space of time, was the SUV that they were trying to find. It was heading eastbound on Wallace Street at an extremely high rate of speed, with the driver having no intention of stopping at the intersection. As he barrelled towards the intersection, Tull and Nazario had just pulled out into it, and the SUV was on them in a split-second, likely without them even knowing it was coming. If Nazario had any knowledge that it was coming directly at her, it was only in that one sudden instant of time. She had no time to react in any way, no time for one final prayer, no time to think of her daughter one last time, no time left in her life. The SUV slammed directly into the side of the patrol car at full speed, likely killing officer Isabel Nazario instantaneously. Tully was also seriously injured, suffering broken ribs and eventually also fighting for his life at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Fellow officers and rescue workers responded to the scene and while some took off in foot pursuit of Nazario's killer, successfully catching him a short distance away, others responded to try and save the lives of the officers. The 'Jaws of Life' were needed to cut them free of the demolished squad car, and local news media caught the dramatic scene as fire rescue workers attempted CPR on Isabel as they loaded her into the EMT for transport to the hospital where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. The Philadelphia Police Department had lost our 2nd officer this year in the line-of-duty, the 3rd within a calendar year, the 4th within the past two years. Perhaps even worse, a young teenage girl has lost her mother. We have one another to lean on, we have other officers to help handle our grief. This girl lost her only mother, and it is a loss that she will have a very difficult time in overcoming. We need to remember Isabel Nazario and the sacrifice that she made for her city. We need to remember it as being just as sacrificial, just as important, just as relevant as the loss of our other recent brothers who died while responding to armed robberies. We need to remember it as representative of what we all do every day, or have done on many days and nights, and as what could happen to any of us on any shift that we work. And we all need to remember this young girl, Isabel's daughter, and make sure that we let her know that she is not as alone as she feels. We need to let her know that she has a vast family in blue, and we need to make sure that she never forgets that fact. God bless the soul of Isabel Nazario. God bless Terry Tully as he continues his attempts to recover from his physical injuries and the likely emotional trauma still to come. And God bless Isabel Nazario's young daughter, that she may somehow one day overcome this devastating loss, and live a life that proudly reflects the sacrifice made by her mother. To all of my fellow Philly Cops, and to law enforcement officers everywhere, be safe, and may God bless you all for the sacrifices that you and your families make every single day and night.