Forward thinking leads Port Authority PBA to join in the response to Dallas and Baton Rouge
Trailer hitching
If the NJ State PBA needed a running mate, a wingman to bring strength and support from New Jersey to Dallas and Baton Rouge, it had to be the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association( PAPBA). Who better to respond to the single greatest loss of law enforcement officers since 9-11 than the organization that lost 37 of its officers on 9-11?
So the PAPBA packed up its trailer and a five-officer crew and went the distances because it had a way and the will.
“ The second largest loss of police life in one incident brought back a lot of stuff from 9-11 when everybody came up here to help us in our time of need,” explained Vinny Zapulla Jr., chairman of the PAPBA Board of Trustees who took the wheel for this response scenario.“ We wanted to pay it forward.”
PAPBA President Paul Nunziato dispatched Zapulla, Recording Secretary Cesar Morales, Trustee Robert Paulsen, Kennedy Airport Delegate Brian Donnelly and Staten Island Bridges Delegate Michael Ulaky to pile in the truck and ride off into the sunset. They departed the Monday following the Dallas shootings at 9 p. m. and found some reinforcements along the way.
Around 1 a. m. traveling through Pennsylvania, a state trooper flagged down the PAPBA Trailer who suspected they were headed to Dallas.“ He told us how proud he was that we would go down there,” Zapulla said.“ We exchanged a few patches. He was really cool.”
Word spread through an LEO Facebook page about the run to Dallas, and some Tennessee officers contacted the PAPBA about meeting at an exit on the highway. According to Zapulla, a group of officers from various departments gave them some patches to take to Dallas.
36 NEW JERSEY COPS ■ AUGUST 2016
Forward thinking leads Port Authority PBA to join in the response to Dallas and Baton Rouge
And at a stop for gas in Mississippi, a mom and her kids saw the trailer, got out of her car and came over to express support.“ She gave us her support without even knowing where we were going,” Zapulla added.“ Every time we saw something like that, it gave us a little boost and we knew we were doing the right thing.”
The PAPBA joined the NJ State PBA at four of the Dallas funerals in distributing water, fruit, snacks and the endless supply of strength and empathy that came from New Jersey. Zapulla noted that seeing citizens line the streets during the funeral processionals reminded him of leaving Ground Zero the many days following 9-11 when he would be driving home after a 12-hour shift on the West Side Highway and see adults and kids clapping as he passed by.
He also noted how the residents in Baton Rouge who lived in the neighborhoods where the churches that held the funerals were located offered their driveways and front lawns for parking reminded again of the atmosphere following 9-11 and the all-for-one sentiment supporting law enforcement.
Nowhere was that feeling more voluminous than at the Saturday night barbecue in Dallas where the PAPBA pulled up its trailer alongside the NJ State PBA. Zapulla wasn’ t sure how many burgers they grilled on that night.
“ I lost count after 400,” he exclaimed.“ That was a great night when everybody let their hair down. Being Italian, I love to cook and see people eat. We were so happy to be part of this with the PBA to help take some pressure off and bring everybody together in a place they could relax. That event was like the punctuation mark at the end of the sentence. The exclamation mark.”