Awe-Inspiring
Members from across the state combine for an unforgettable
tribute at the New Jersey Law Enforcement Offi cers Memorial Service
■ BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
■ PHOTOS BY ED CARATTINI JR.
Union County Sheriff’s Officers Local 108 member Marc Mac-
cerelli quickly realized what NJ State PBA President Pat Colligan
had been talking about for the past year, urging members to at-
tend the New Jersey Law Enforcement Memorial Service. When
Maccerelli walked into the Great Auditorium in Ocean Grove
where the ceremony has been held for 34 years, he tried to find
the words to describe the scene.
“It’s aweing,” he declared.
Perhaps that was a hybrid of “awesome” and “amazing.” Or
“awestruck” and “overwhelming.”
Maccerelli attended the service for the first time and had the
chance to see the rows and rows of empty chairs holding places
for each of New Jersey’s law enforcement officers lost in the line
of duty. From 1854 through 2017, 488 New Jersey officers have
been lost. Each of their names are printed on placards set on the
empty chairs. Some of their family members placed a single red
rose on those chairs.
Aweing, indeed. Central Bergen County Local 86 member
Alex Baker felt that sentiment when he walked into the Great
Auditorium on May 22, also for the first time.
“It sends a chill through your bones,” Baker related. “But if I
can be there for them, that’s where I want to be.”
That’s the emotion compelling Colligan to summon all mem-
bers to find their way to Ocean Grove each May. Empty chairs
evoke so many emotions that make the New Jersey Law En-
forcement Memorial Service an event that every officer should
come to. And keep coming back to.
Just thinking about how a sense of honor blends with a
CONTINUED ON PAGE 66
Summit Offi cer
Mathew Tarentino
Montclair State University Campus
Police Sergeant Christopher Vidro
www.njcopsmagazine.com
■ JUNE 2018 65