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NORWALK, Conn. – Guns were fired at Norwalk Police headquarters Friday, but only in honor of those who have given their all for the city.
Norwalk Police Memorial Service May 18, 2012
The annual Police Memorial Service paid homage to four Norwalk officers who died in the line of duty and to those across the country who have done the same. Officers and members of Norwalk's community gathered in front of headquarters around a statue known as "The Protector," listening as Detective Kristina Lapak sang "Amazing Grace," an honor guard fired three volleys and speakers tried to evoke the magnitude of the sacrifice made by fallen officers.
"It's very difficult to place a value on a person's life, especially a hero," said Chief Harry Rilling. "How do we properly pay tribute to those who have given their lives in service to their communities?"
Stamford Police officer Troy Strauser, who is in critical condition at Norwalk Hospital after being injured in the line of duty Thursday, was on many minds.
"When others would run for safety, police officers run toward the danger," said Sgt. Thomas Roncinske, president of the Norwalk Police Union. "They risk everything without a second thought for their personal safety. Such is the case of Stamford Officer Troy Strauser."
"Without the men and women in blue being there and doing their jobs, we all know what type of chaos we would have in this community," said Mayor Richard Moccia, who went on to note there were many people in the audience who have served in the military. "There are no battle lines in this city," he added. "There are no demarcation zones or non-military zones. Every day, when [officers] get into that patrol car, they do not know what is going to happen. Evidence of that is the unfortunate incident with the officer from Stamford. We hope and pray that he will recover and be back on duty and be healthy and stay safe for the rest of his career."
Rilling said the moment was additionally emotional for him as it was the last time he would preside over the event. Rilling retires in December. He used elements from previous memorial speeches to illustrate the protective attitude police officers have, including those who rushed into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. He said, "Remember the officers who are willing to lay down their lives for you at any moment."
Comments (14)
I am amazed that people would use the comments section of an article about a solemn memorial for fallen officers to argue that 1) the police are responsible for shootings in Norwalk and 2) the mayor is wrong to try and find a new police chief from within the department.
There is plenty of time until the next election, do you really have to campaign right here, right now?
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
HOW MUCH FOR THIS POST
If you hate my posts so much and are not being paid to reply why do you read each and everyone of them. If you don't like don't read even you should be able to figure that out.
Tim T
Just to show us that you have some idea what you are talking about, why don't you post a list of the qualifications you would look for in a candidate for the next police chief ? You would be suprised how carefully our posts are studied, and your list could provide some useful insights for the people who will be making the appointment. I am dead serious. Input from people like you and I and others could make a real difference in who gets the job. There are some skills they will be looking for and some unavoidable political considerations, but, if you have a real interest in improving the police dept, your honest input, without all the complaints about what you see now, could be helpful. Please don't limit yourself to qualities you already associate with a particular likely candidate, but try to list all you want in an ideal perfect candidate. We all know they are not going to find the perfect candidate at the price they can pay, but we should encourage them to try for the best they can get.
This is a real challenge and will not be as simple as it sounds.
I have proved multiple times - providing actual links - that I have criticized the administration, so it is obvious that I am not paid by them. That's what people who are trying to actually prove a point do - they give supporting evidence. You by contrast simply get angry and spout insults. Clearly that's because you lack the facts to prove what you're saying.
I am tired of you bashing professionals who do a difficult job, as are most others who comment here. I do agree that the City needs to examine the policy of paying officers overtime to watch holes being dug, but in other aspects of their work the Norwalk PD serves us well.
Using your own logic, why would someone spend so much time repeating lies about the police unless that person had some ulterior motive. Are you a gang member? Are you are being paid by criminals to bash the police force? Why exactly do you want Norwalk to be a place where police are not allowed to chase criminals who flee at any speed faster than 65mph? Imagine what would happen to Norwalk's burglary rate if your goofy policy were put in place and the word spread to criminals.
I have come to believe that you figure if you say something enough that you it will come true. You have yet to provide any links to anything to justify your insanity. Also as far criticizing the administration once I am sure that was done to throw others off the trail of you being a stooge for the administration . Nice try but you failed. Also if you are making your insane posts for free that is actually scarier than if you are being paid.
Interesting that you failed to answer any of my questions. Did I strike a nerve?
No but you did admit that you are a paid stooge
Thank you for the admission
No but you did admit that you are a paid stooge
Thank you for the admission
OLD TIMER
The criticism Rilling and the NPD takes is valid. Harry needs to be replaced from outside the old boys club of the NPD, so someone that is unbiased can clean house from the top down, and a good house cleaning it needs . The current NPD is a complete and total failure. How anyone can say Rilling has done an excellent job managing the department is beyond me and beyond most thinking people under Rilling's management we have had many many officers arrest themselves and not by the NPD, but outside agencies doing the house cleaning for the NPD. Under Rilling's management we have had one shooting after another and one killing after killing all unsolved but one. It seems that most of the good cops have jumped ship as soon as that could do to the disaster that the NPD has become. All we here from Rilling is one excuse after the next why they can not catch the ones doing the shooting and killings of the past 4 years. In the private sector as in the real world excuses just don't do it. In the private sector when you have to many excuses you don't have a job. Also before some blow hard states that it not like TV where crimes are solved in an hour. Take notice its been 4 YEARS.
With that said my heart goes out to families of these fallen heroes of the NPD when it was a great department.
Tim T
I never said Harry was the perfect police chief or Norwalk has the perfect police dept. I said Harry will be hard to replace. I know him personally and I know. A little about police departments. We can all agree there are things we would like to see done differently. We each believe our version of how a police department is managed would be an improvement. Only somebody who has run a police dept. has any real understanding how difficult a task that can be.
I, for example, have suggested here there should be more officers and certain technical services should be handled in-house, like some laboratory work, including DNA matching, but I know that would cost money and getting more in the police budget has been impossible for years. You have criticized how much some officers are paid for overtime work and how poorly some of that work is performed. Do you think, if you were appointed chief(not impossible), that you could snap your fingers and change long established practices ?
A police chief is an appointed position and serves at the pleasure of whoever appoints. That is true in Norwalk and most other places. That gives the mayor enormous control over any chief who wants to stay in that position. Keeping the mayor, the people, and the officers working for you all reasonably happy while keeping within a budget is an incredible balancing act that Chief Harry has done well and he will be a tough act to follow. In my opinion a Norwalk native with years of police experience and the right education should have a real advantage in the selection process, but I guarantee nobody is going to ask me to help make the selection. I would not rule out anybody, but expect the job will go to a Norwalk officer, either working now or recently retired.
How do you blame Chief Rilling for the shootings? What do you think, he tells people "Hey! Go out and kill someone"? We are a CITY, understand? In a CITY there will be shootings, and, yers, even murders. It happens in EVERY CITY int he nation.
lwitherspoon aka rerbc. Its called solving the crime like every other town ,city, and Moccia urban center do..See that's what we pay the police for, not just watching a construction hole. Riling as chief is the manager of the police and the buck stops at his desk for the failure of his department to solve or prevent crime.
Sorry, but, unlike you, I don't make up other names to post under. This is my one and only name. As far as solving the crime, the police have done a pretty good job at getting criminals off the streets. Every CITY has major crime, and E.V.E.R.Y. C.I.T.Y. has murder victims, even small towns have crime and killings, unfortunately, that is the way the world is.
The heroes who were honored deserved more than we can ever do for them. Honoring them each year is a nice custom.
With all the criticism Chief Harry takes, he will be hard to replace. He has worked hard to come up through the ranks, get himself a couple of degrees, and do an excellent job managing a police department he loves. Some of us believe he should now have more officers. The city would do well to get the process started now to find the next chief. Moccia has spoken in favor of appointing from within the department, others have spoken in favor of a nationwide search. That decision will be made by the police commission (moccia appointees) and should not be put off until the last minute, forcing a hasty decision. Finding a candidate as well qualified as Harry was when he was appointed, will take a while.