Roadside memorials a permanent
fixture for fallen first responders
After four years of tireless efforts to create “Patrolman Joseph
Wargo’s Law,” Judy Shoudy’s hard work paid off when Gov. Chris
Christie signed the bill into law on Jan. 19.
The law, named after her late friend, Mount Arlington Police
Officer Joseph Wargo, who was killed in a line-of-duty accident
by a drug-influenced driver on Oct. 16, 2011, directs the state
Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish a roadside
memorial sign program for law enforcement officers,
firefighters and emergency medical service workers who die in
the line of duty.
“He was a great cop and a great human being,” recalled
Shoudy, who was then working as an EMT in Mount Arlington
and served with Wargo on emergency calls. “Everyone misses
him.”
Mount Arlington police created a beautiful roadside
memorial for Wargo, but Shoudy wanted a way to permanently
remember the fallen officer, as roadside memorials could be
removed at anytime.
Shoudy first collected 1,200 signatures before presenting testimony on the bill to the State Assembly’s Homeland Security
and State Preparedness Committee in June, which unanimously
passed the bill before it went to the Senate.
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NEW JERSEY COPS
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FEBRUARY 2016