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"We will never forget the ultimate sacrifices made in the line of duty by all police officers across this nation, in particular Vinny’s sacrifice on November 22, 1993," Paramus police noted on their Facebook page again this year."
"Vinny was a key player in the growth of this department, taking active roles in the establishment of the Paramus Police Honor Guard, Communications Center and the Special Operations Team that later would become our Emergency Service Unit," they wrote.
Brock, who wore badge number #326, left a wife, Diane, and three children: Timothy, Gregory and Lindsay.
“Vinny was a good man, [a] good cop and a good friend,” retired Paramus Officer John Campione said.
“I remember when I met him back in the mid 70’s he played bass guitar, good musician,” Campione wrote. “He along with other local talent inspired me to play drums.
“It was [a] pleasure jamming with him as much as it was working along side him out on the road. He was a gentleman and a kind hearted person.”
Brock, a 12-year department veteran who was graduated from Paramus High School in 1973, was killed when his patrol car struck a utility pole on Route 4 while responding to a call placed with a stolen cellphone.
The man who placed the call was sentenced to five years in state prison and an accomplice 18 months in connection with Brock’s death.
A subsequent investigation found that the Crown Victoria police cruiser had a defect in the power-steering.
The 1973 Paramus High School graduate left behind his wife, Diane, and three children: Timothy, Gregory and Lindsay.
The Vincent M. Brock Communications Center — responsible for answering all calls for Paramus, as well as 911 calls for East Rutherford, Hillsdale, Midland Park, Old Tappan, Palisades Park, River Vale, Rochelle Park, Tenafly, and Wyckoff — is named for him.
In addition to direct radio communication with each mall, the center has live monitoring capability of several hundred security cameras positioned throughout the Westfield Garden State Plaza and the Bergen Town Center.
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