In Memoriam
On eagle’s wings
The NJ State PBA trailer travels to the funeral services
for fallen Virginia State Troopers
n BY AMBER RAMUNDO
in his life while working in the Vir-
ginia State Police Aviation Unit.
“I was close to both of those
state troopers,” McAuliffe shared
at a memorial service in Char-
lottesville. “Jay Cullen had been
flying me around for three and a
half years. Berke was part of my
executive protection unit. He was
part of my family. The man lived
with me 24/7.”
The PBA trailer stood out in the
mass of people who attended the
funerals, reminding Virginia and
all the agencies represented at
the services that law enforcement
stands together, no matter the
distance. Following Cullen’s fu-
neral at the Southside Church of
All eyes were fixated on Charlot-
tesville, Virginia on Aug. 12, when a
white nationalist rally turned into a
deadly collision of protesters at the
city’s center. Amidst the outburst of
violence involving neo-Nazis and Ku
Klux Klan members in the streets,
two Virginia State Police members
monitoring the scene from the sky
encountered a fatal accident of their
own, leaving Lieutenant Pilot Henry
John “Jay” Cullen and Trooper Pilot
Trooper Pilot
Lieutenant
Berke M. M. Bates dead in an aircraft
crash.
Berke M. M.
Henry John
To support the state of Virginia
Bates
“Jay” Cullen
and all those who mourned the loss
Virginia State Police
of two loyal first responders, New
End of Watch: August 12, 2017
Jersey State PBA members loaded
the PBA trailer and traveled south for
the state troopers’ funerals.
As the recognizable NJ State PBA trailer rolled into yet anoth-
er memorial service parking lot to provide relief to a communi-
ty struck with grief, Vernon Township Local 285 State Delegate
Keith Curry was reminded of the hard work that goes into dedi-
cating the time to running the resource trailer with NJ State PBA
Special Events Coordinator John Hulse.
“If you’ve done anything with John Hulse, there is no relax-
ing,” Curry clarified. “You’re up at 5 a.m., maybe earlier. You’re
busy the whole time doing something. It is a lot of work, but the
NJ State PBA members set up
way people treat us and their reaction to us being there always
the PBA trailer at the funeral
services for Virginia state troop-
makes it worth it.”
ers who died in an aircraft crash
Curry and Hulse, as well as NJ State PBA Trustee Pat Moran
while patrolling the nationalist
and NJ State PBA First Vice-President Peter Andreyev, all took
rally in Charlottesville.
part in the efforts to drive, stock and run the trailer’s conces-
sion stand at the funerals for Cullen and Bates that took place
the Nazarene in Chesterfield
on Aug. 18 and 19.
The two state troopers had almost five combined decades of
County on Aug. 19, the PBA
experience in law enforcement. Cullen, 48, joined the Virginia
crew began to pack up the trailer to head back to New Jersey
State Police in 1994 and is survived by his wife and two sons.
when Cullen’s brother interrupted the group to share his grati-
Bates, 40, who served with the Florida Highway Patrol before
tude for them being there.
joining the Virginia State Police in 2004, had a wife and 11-year-
“The trooper’s brother came over and thanked us,” Curry ex-
old twins. The officers were traveling in a Bell 407 helicopter,
plained. “Sometimes you don’t really get what it means to peo-
monitoring the outbreak of violence, when it crashed in a
ple until you see the family members.”
wooded area on Old Farm Road in Albemarle County.
As Curry, Hulse, Moran and Andreyev closed up the trailer to
Hundreds of law enforcement officers from more than 20 di-
get
back on the road, they took another glance at the vehicle’s
visions across the country attended the services in uniform to
“Wall
of Honor,” which displays the badges of where it’s been
honor the men who lost their lives while patrolling a civic disas-
and
reminds
PBA members of all those heroes who should nev-
ter. Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe also attended the services
to pay his respects and further share the impact the officers had
er be forgotten. d
In Memoriam
www.njcopsmagazine.com
■ SEPTEMBER 2017 45