His star will forever shine
Summit Detective Matthew Tarentino leaves a legacy
of community service, dedication to his profession,
devotion to his family, faith and love that made a
lasting impact on everybody who knew him.
n BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
n FUNERAL PHOTOS BY JIM CONNOLLY AND PETER WALLBURG
Every Monday evening, Summit Detective and Local 55 member Matthew
Tarentino polished his uniform boots for the upcoming workweek. With acade-
my-learned precision, he would buff them to a high-gloss mirror finish, even melt-
ing the wax himself to accentuate the shine. He would confirm the creases in his
pants and check the points of his collar. He did it not because he wanted to look
good in the uniform but because he wanted the uniform to look good, the best
possible reflection of the police and the police department.
That was Matt.
The day after Matthew Tarentino was lost in the line of duty on May 30 in a horrif-
ic traffic accident on Interstate 78, a Summit resident happened upon Lieutenant
Rick Proctor, Matt’s supervisor in the department’s celebrated community policing
unit. Proctor related how Matt wrote the man four tickets on one traffic stop, but
after a brief conversation the man left the encounter on a high note. “He could give
you a ticket and make you feel good about it,” Proctor praised.
That was Matt.
As a community policing officer, Matthew Tarentino loved to guide groups of
students on tours of department headquarters. He turned it into a history lesson
and made sure to cap the experience with something memorable like getting to
punch the lights and siren in a patrol car. “One time we had a group of students
from France come through,” Local 55 State Delegate Mike Freeman recalls. “Matt
was showing them some pictures in the hallway and he had done some research to
tell them how these related to their country.”
That was Matt.
A few years ago, a mother in town with a child on the autism spectrum asked Chief
Robert Weck what the department had done to ensure proper protection of kids like
CONTINUED ON PAGE 28
Matthew Tarentino’s uniform hat and Badge 121.
Vicki Tarentino with sons Robbie and Ray watch as
Summit Officers escort Matthew’s casket to be taken
to the cemetery.
www.njcopsmagazine.com
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