NJ State PBA responds to officers lost in the line of duty
In Memor iam
PBA travels en ‘Mass’ to honor fallen offi cer
The NJ State PBA goes to any length to
support fellow officers and to remember
those who paid the ultimate price. Such
dedication was shown on July 20 when a
contingent of members traveled to the Bay
State to memorialize Weymouth Police De-
partment (MA) Sergeant Michael Chesna,
who was shot and killed in the line of duty
on the morning of July 15.
Weymouth Police Chief Richard Grimes
described Chesna, a Weymouth native
who had children ages 4 and 9, as “a great
family man and a great officer.” He was 42
years old.
Chesna enlisted in the Army after 9/11,
served two tours of duty and earned a Pur-
ple Heart. Returning home, Chesna ful-
filled his childhood dream of becoming a
law enforcement officer. He spent his ca-
reer in Weymouth. Posthumously, Chesna
was promoted to the rank of sergeant.
Friends and family remember Chesna as
an avid Boston sports fan, with a “partic-
ular devotion to Bill Belichick,” his family
stated in an obituary.
NJSPBA members who attended the fu-
neral recall a scene reflecting a community
In Memor iam
Sergeant Michael C. Chesna
Weymouth Police Department, MA
EOW: July 15, 2018
that lost a hero.
“As we rode through Hingham, Rock-
land and Weymouth,” described Berkeley
Heights Local 144 State Delegate Pat Mo-
ran, “people showed their support with
blue tape across their garage doors and
blue lights outside their homes.”
A local bakery even created – and quick-
ly sold out of – special blue-and-black
cookies in memory of Chesna.
NJ corrections offi cers stand behind those
who work behind bars – no matter where
The shockingly violent line of duty death
of Minnesota Department of Corrections
Officer Joseph Gomm on July 18 was a call
to action for four members of New Jersey
State Corrections Local 105, who drove
cross-country to honor a brother who
was lost after being beaten to death with a
hammer by an inmate.
“It’s the most chilling way for a cor-
rections officer to lose his life,” Local 105
Executive Vice-President Sean Sprich ad-
mitted. “That drove us to do this trip. It’s
one of our worst nightmares – to deal with
that kind of an attack – it’s one of the worst
things I’ve heard of.”
Boarding the new Local 105 hospitality
bus, NJSPBA members quickly found that
no amount of miles separate corrections
officers.
“It was a very long journey,” Sprich re-
called, “but when we arrived and dealt
with the officers and the staff who work at
the facility, we were extremely humbled by
their embrace of us, and how much they
appreciated us for taking the time to come
see them in their darkest hour.”
In Memor iam
Corrections Officer Joseph Gomm
Minnesota Department of Corrections
EOW: July 18, 2018
Local 105 State Delegate Ray Heck elab-
orated on the bond that exists behind the
bars, especially during such a somber oc-
casion:
“It’s a sense of bereavement of all of
law enforcement, but more specifically of
corrections officers. We have this nucleus
among ourselves that creates a sense of
integrity and trust, and we all understand
this line of work, whether you’re from Cali-
fornia or New Jersey. And when one bleeds,
we all bleed. It’s not just one person in
Minnesota – we’re all together. We feel for
them as if he was one of our own.”
www.njcopsmagazine.com
■ AUGUST 2018 57