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For only the second time in the event’s history, the state was fortunate not to have to add any names to the list. The memories linger, however
For Boone, it’s thoughts of former colleague Mary Ann Collura, who was gunned down on the grounds of the Van Riper Ellis Broadway Baptist Church after coming to the aid of a fellow officer trying to arrest a murderous ex-con 11 years ago.
Boone, now the pastor at Van Riper, told the audience during today’s benediction that he was at the candlight vigil at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. last week when someone spoke the words: “You are not alone.”
CLIFFVIEW PILOT PHOTO
“I guess it was always somewhere in the back of my mind,” he later told CLIFFVIEW PILOT, “but for the first ime I realized how true it is.
“I began to think about all the people who’ve crossed my path, and those of my fellow officers, all these years since April 17, 2003,” Boone said. “There are other brothers and sisters, survivors, family members and citizens in our communities who really care about us, who support and encourage us.
“We are not alone.”
Also representing Fair Lawn today was its police honor guard — led, as always, by Capt. Robert Kneer.
The ceremony, the oldest of its kind in the U.S., honors those law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice not only in the previous year but since the mid-1800s.
It was held at the historic Great Auditorium, two blocks from the Atlantic Ocean.
New Jersey had five line-of-duty police deaths in 2011 — including Newark Detective Michael Morgan, who was shot defending a robbery victim in Paterson — and two in 2012.
The four in 2010 included Teaneck Sgt. John Abraham, who was killed in a crash outside police headquarters.
Among today’s participating agencies:
New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police
New Jersey Police Chiefs Foundation
New Jersey State Police
New Jersey State Troopers Fraternal Association
New Jersey State Troopers NCO Association
New Jersey Fraternal Order of Police
New Jersey Policemen’s Benevolent Association
New Jersey’s County Prosecutors Association
New Jersey’s Sheriffs Association
New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice
New Jersey COPS/Garden State Survivors
New Jersey State Police Survivors of the Triangle
New Jersey Chaplains Association
New Jersey Police Academy Directors Association
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Federal Bureau of Investigation-Newark Division
U.S. DEA-New Jersey Division
U.S. Marshals Service
FBI National Academy Associates-New Jersey Chapter
National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives-New Jersey
PHOTOS: Courtesy SADDLE BROOK POLICE CHIEF ROBERT KUGLER
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