Candlelight Vigil
A time for refl ection
Summit offi cers dress the line to remember Matthew Tarentino
Members of Summit Local 55 at the Candlelight Vigil. With them is Mark Tarentino (far left), Matt’s brother and Matt’s uncle Dirk Sheasley (far right).
■ BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
■ PHOTOS BY AMBER RAMUNDO
Look at the boots. Look at the entire uniforms, actually, that
the Summit Local 55 officers are wearing in the photo taken at
the Candlelight Vigil. All the boots have been polished to a high-
gloss finish. The creases in the pants are immaculate, as are the
points of the collar of their shirts.
Pristine and clean is the only way Summit officers could have
come to National Police Week this year to honor and remember
their brother, Matthew Lawrence Tarentino. This was their way
to show the best possible reflection of Matt.
“We’re just remembering how incredible of a person he was,”
extolled Local 55 member Mike Rabasca who came to Washing-
ton with 13 other officers from the department, including Chief
Robert Weck.
The group of 14 formed the Local 55 team that rode the Police
Unity Tour, worked support and displayed Matt’s badge number
– 121 – as its ongoing tribute. Rabasca made his 14th Tour this
year, and in his 24 years on the job, he had never felt anything
like he did when coming to the National Law Enforcement Of-
ficers Memorial with the Tour arrival or to the National Mall for
the Vigil.
“When it’s somebody that you know, it’s a totally different
experience,” Rabasca continued. “It’s almost real now. It hits
home. Hearing his name read, he’s in a better place. He’s proba-
bly looking down and smiling.”
Because of Matt’s noted devotion to his family, Local 55 want-
ed to make this remembrance all about family. Part of that was
celebrating Matt’s daughter, Anastasia Catherine, who was born
two months after he was lost in a vehicle crash on May 30, 2017
and attended the Vigil along with brothers Robbie and Ray. The
Summit officers escorted Victoria Tarentino and her children to
every event during Police Week.
Additionally, Matt’s brother Mark, a professor at Methodist
University in Fayetteville, North Carolina, rode the Unity Tour
with Local 55, as did his uncle, Dirk Sheasley, who is an officer
with Peapack-Gladstone and a member of Morris-Somerset Lo-
cal 139.
Mark certainly knew how much Matt loved law enforcement.
He witnessed this firsthand at Matt’s funeral when “a sea of offi-
cers,” introduced themselves to him. Being at Police Week only
seconded that emotion.
“It’s the most incredible experience of my life,” Mark submit-
ted. “I wish I had not lost a brother to gain other brothers, but
Matt would’ve wanted something positive to come out of his
CONTINUED ON PAGE 60
www.njcopsmagazine.com
■ JUNE 2018 59