By Amber Cox
FLORENCE Officer Walter Kotch was escorting a funeral procession when a vehicle hit his patrol car on the driver’s side, killing the 29-year-old policeman. That was April 15, 1965, 46 years ago, and on Friday township held a rededication ceremony for him on, the anniversary of his death.
Officer Kotch’s car was struck at Route 130 and Cedar Lane. He had served the department for six years and left behind a wife and two young children.
Florence Detective Jim Ford, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 210, said the FOP decided to rededicate Officer Kotch’s memorial site in front of the Municipal Building and “make sure we honor him or a yearly basis.”
”We took it upon ourselves through the idea of two of our members to rededicate the memorial and remind everybody about Officer Kotch, so people don’t just walk by on a daily basis and ignore the stone ‘out in the front yard,’” Detective Ford said.
Detective Ford said the number of officers killed in the line of duty is growing significantly.
”This year, in the United States, 60 officers have been killed in the line of duty,” he said. “Last year, all of 2010, 50 officers were killed in the line of duty. We’re 10 ahead of last year, and the year is not over.”
Detective Ford said there are 19,000 names on the Fallen Officers Memorial dating all the way back to 1791.
”Every one of those officers protected and served their community,” he said. “Some of them died protecting their community.
”Officer Kotch died serving his community by escorting that funeral procession. It doesn’t matter what the officer was going when they died in the line of duty. It doesn’t matter how they were serving their community, the fact remains that they were serving their community and at the end of the day Officer Kotch still did not go home to his wife, daughter and son.”
Burlington County Surrogate George Kotch, Officer Kotch’s first cousin, said he will never forget the day he found out his cousin had been killed.
”I remember the day that Walt got killed,” he said. “It was my understanding that Walt switched his day off and worked because he wanted to be off for his birthday. He wasn’t even supposed to work that day. I was riding home from law school on Route 130 and the only thing I heard on the radio was that a police officer was killed. They didn’t even say Florence or who it was, I shut the radio off.”
Mr. Kotch said he got off Route 130 and continued to drive home. When he got there he said to his mother, “I think something happened to Walt.”
Mr. Kotch said it took him over a year to ride through the intersection where Officer Kotch was killed.
”I still remember him to this day, and I still remember him every time I drive through that intersection,” he said.
Alrene Kotch Paris, was only 12 years old when her brother was killed. She recollected that Officer Kotch would always stop at their parents’ house for coffee and to read the newspaper after his shifts before returning home.
”He was the best brother anybody could have,” she said. “He was just so sweet and so kind.”
Chief Stephen Fazekas said there is no such thing as a “routine call.”
”People have a tendency to say, ‘you know the officers, when they’re killed in the line of duty they come from big cities,’ because that’s where a lot of the crime is,” he said. “That’s not true anymore. If you look at the officers that have died this year, a lot of them are from small towns like Florence.”
Detective Ford closed out the ceremony by asking all in attendance to remember all of the fallen officers around the country.
”In addition, remember the officers that work daily, waking up in the morning and going home to their families at night,” he said. “I ask you to say a little prayer at night before you go to bed that all of those officers go home safely to their families.”

