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Pawtucket Police Honors it’s Fallen and Recognizes Work of Current Officers at 2015 Merit Awards Today, City and State officials joined the Pawtucket Police Department in paying tribute the federal, state and
local law enforcement officers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice and were struck down in the line of duty.
The ceremony stems back to 1962, when President
John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation which designated May 15th as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the
week that date falls as Police Week. In 2014, 133 law
enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty. To
coincide with this time to reflect on the service of fallen
officers, The Pawtucket Police Department also presents its awards to members of the Department that
exhibited meritorious and brave service in the community. The event paid recognition to department members
that went above and beyond in their duties in 2014.
Attorney General Peter Kilmartin presided over the ceremonies alongside Mayor Donald R. Grebien, Director of Administration Antonio Pires and
Chief of Police Paul King. In his greetings, Mayor Grebien spoke to the difficulty Police Officers
and their families are faced with while serving. “What most people cannot relate to is the selfless dedication, sacrifice and bravery that law enforcement officers exhibit daily,” stated
Grebien. “They leave their families behind to put their lives in jeopardy for us. They confront
those that would do us harm. They see things that no one should have to see and are asked to
be at their best when faced with the full spectrum of human emotion,” Grebien continued.
Director of Administration and Public Safety Director, Antonio Pires, led the crowd in honoring
the names of the members of the Pawtucket Police Department that were killed in the line of
duty since 1906. The names of the deceased officers and their Dates of Last Watch were: Officer Samuel Slocum-2/4/1906,
Special Officer William Gemmell6/22/1908, Special Officer David
Boswell Burns-8/18/1925, Officer
Charles Patnaude-9/30/1952, Detective Lieutenant Thomas Truesdale-6/30/1958, Detective Emil
Newberg-6/30/1958, Officer Doreen
Tomlinson 6/26/1984.
Donald R. Grebien
Mayor
Pawtucket Police Honors it’s Fallen and Recognizes Work of Current Officers at 2015 Merit Awards After a moment of silence, students from
Jacqueline M. Walshschool for the Performing
and Visual Arts gave a stirring rendition of
Amazing Grace.
Major Paul J. Catarina presided over introduction of awards as Chief King, Mayor Grebien
and Director Pires presented the citations to
this year’s recipients. This year’s Merit Award
recipients were: Officer John Donley, Officer
William Figura, Jr. Officer Michael Costigan,
Officer Paul M. Trout. Awards of Commendation were presented to: Officer Mario A.
Comella, Officer Christopher Dolan, Officer Emmanuel E. Mejia, Officer Alexander R. Smith,
Officer Shawn J. Pitts, Officer Thomas Vasatka, Officer David F.
Dolan, Officer Anthony M. Lucchetti, Officer Gregory J. Malo, Officer Kraig A. Nelson and Officer Rui J. Silva. Achievement of Excellence Awards recipients were: Officer Emmanuel E. Mejia, Officer Mario A. Comella, Officer Daniel R. Ashworth, Officer
Julianne Borsari, Officer John S. Donley, Officer Alexander R.
Smith, Officer Ariel Vega, Officer James R. Baino, Officer Maria V.
Cruz, Officer Trevor Lefebvre, Officer Jeffrey G. Furtado, Officer
Tyler Shea, Officer James S. Leach, Detective Linda BachandDoucet, Detective Jeffrey A. Cook, Detective Raymond J. Dorn,
Detective Richard LaForest, Jr., Detective Captain John S. Seebeck, Detective David Silva and Detective Donti T. Rosciti.
“Nobody gets into this line of work for an award or recognition,” said Chief of Police Paul King.
“But it’s important to recognize the men and women that are on the front line in the community
making a difference in people’s lives while protecting the City and honor those they came before you that have paid the ultimate sacrifice.”
Donald R. Grebien
Mayor