Union City Local 8 members salute the honor guards kicking off the ceremony to the unveiling of the Police Memorial Park.
of Union City and Hudson County.”
The family of Sergeant Arthur Materka, whose line-of-duty death in 1938 still stirs up emotions, reiterated those sentiments.
“This is very overwhelming,” emphasized Materka’s niece
Lynn Materka-Harnden. “We can’t get over this – that they’re
still remembering him. It means a lot to us that they haven’t forgotten.”
The Police Memorial Park consists of a bronze statue of a law
enforcement officer kneeling before three walls dedicated to
each fallen officer with pictures and biographies and a poem in
their memory. The Police Memorial Park also houses an eternal
flame, and a thin-blue line surrounds the perimeter.
“I’m stunned at how beautiful this park is,” recognized NJ
State PBA President Patrick Colligan. “We have a responsibility
to remember our fallen officers and this certainly fits the bill.
There are hundreds of cops and hundreds of people from the
community, so it’s nice to see.”
The first park dedicated to police officers who died in the
line of duty in Hudson County attracted law enforcement officers from Union City Local 8, West New York Local 361, Hudson
County Corrections Local 109, Hudson County Sheriff’s Office
Local 334, Port Authority Local 116, Kearny Local 21 and Honor Guards from Union City, West New York, North Bergen and
Hudson County.
At the ceremony, U.S. Senator Bob Menendez announced
he flew American flags over the U.S. Capitol Building in honor
of each of the fallen officers before presenting a flag to each of
the families in attendance; Mayor Brian Sack and Union City
Chief Richard Molinari thanked Scardino for his dedication to
the project.
“Chris worked day and night to make it happen and truly
touched the lives of the families of the officers who are here tonight to commemorate and thank them for their years of service,” recognized Molinari. “The Union City Police Memorial
Park will serve as a reminder that this city will never forget the
heroism of these officers.”
After the ceremony, the families laid a rose on the bronze statue of an officer mourning his fallen brothers before venturing to
the police-inspired playground with a motorcycle seesaw and a
helicopter slide to encourage Union City residents to not only
respect law enforcement, but maybe inspire young children to
become law enforcement officers. d
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