EDISON — The “Remembering the Fallen” memorial has been unveiled in dedication to fallen police officers of Middlesex County.
The memorial stands as a tribute to 27 officers who have died in the line of duty while protecting the lives and property of county residents: John Bodnar Sr. of the Carteret Police Department; William J. Cady of the South Plainfield Police Department; Robert A. Cardone of the South Brunswick Police Department; William L. Carroll Jr. of the New Jersey State Police; Richard H. Conklin, South Plainfield; Woodhull W. Davis of the Juvenile Justice Commission; Michael Dudash of the Edison Police Department; George Dunham of the Franklin Township Police Department; and Charles Eberwein of the South River Police Department;
Also, Werner Foerster, New Jersey State Police; John Gurnovich, South Brunswick; Robert S. Heathcock of the North Brunswick Police Department; Howard J. Kline Jr., of the Milltown Police Department; Harry C. Kuell Sr., of the East Brunswick Police Department; John Lebed, Franklin Township; Joseph Lewis of the Woodbridge Police Department; Richard E. Mcgilvery of the Rutgers University Police Department; and Joseph Michalowski of the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Department.
Also, Frank J. Papaianni, Edison; Thomas E. Raji of the Perth Amboy Police Department; Walter Rusinak, Carteret; William A, Savage of the New Brunswick Police Department; Christopher S. Scales, New Jersey State Police; Robert Shanley, Carteret; William I. Van Arsdale, New Brunswick; Alvin Williams, Woodbridge; and Warren G. Yenser, New Jersey State Police.
The first officer to have died in the line of duty was Van Arsdale of New Brunswick, who drowned in 1856. The most recent officer to die in the line of duty was Raji, who died in 2008 due to a vehicular homicide.
Eleven of the officers died from gunfire; four were struck by motor vehicles; three from medical-related incidents; three from motor vehicle crashes; and two each died either from drowning, stabbing, or vehicular assault.
South River Police Chief Mark Tinitigan, who serves as president of the Middlesex County Association of Chiefs of Police, said he hoped the memorial “will give the families of these officers solace in knowing that these are the officers we will never forget.”
The memorial, which is displayed in a hallway at the Middlesex County Police Training Center in Edison, consists of a full-color wall mural listing the name and agency of each officer.
Adjacent to the memorial, which measures 7 feet, 7 inches high and 9 feet wide, is a service tray containing a booklet that details the biological information and circumstances of the death of each of the officers.
Nearly 100 members of law enforcement, as well as relatives of nine of the fallen officers, attended the unveiling at the training center on Nov. 12.
“The thousands of members of law enforcement who annually pass through the Middlesex County Police Training Center will remember the ultimate sacrifice which these 27 officers made while in the line of duty,” said Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey. “While every sworn law enforcement officer is willing to make that sacrifice to preserve the life and liberty of our citizens, we hope that we will never have to add another name to the Wall of Heroes memorial.”
Members of the chiefs association who worked on the creation of the “Remembering the Fallen” memorial were Sayreville Police Chief John Zebrowski, Woodbridge Police Director Robert Hubner, North Brunswick Police Director Ken McCormick, retired South Plainfield Police Chief Robert Merkler and retired Highland Park Police Sgt. William Ducca.