by Wayne Parry, The Associated Press
Neptune, N.J. (AP) -- John Ciuppa was only nine months old when his father, Garfield Police Sgt. Ignatius Ciuppa, was struck and killed by a car while he was on motorcycle duty accompanying a funeral procession in 1954.
He never knew his father, but vividly recalls how his absence hurt the young family that was left behind.
“There were times when you didn’t know where your next quart of milk or loaf of bread were coming from,” said Ciuppa. “It was not an easy time, let me tell you.”
Nowadays, society does a much better job of caring for the families of police officers killed in the line of duty, said Ciuppa and his mother, Jennie, of Wayne. They were just two of hundreds of officers and family members who attended a memorial service Tuesday in Ocean Grove’s Great Auditorium to honor the more than 400 New jersey officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty since 1854, including the six who were added to the list over the past year.
Among them was Clifton Officer John Samra, who was killed in a traffic accident Nov. 21, 2003. While on motorcycle patrol, Samra pulled a van over for a traffic stop. But it then took off, and the driver collided with Samra’s motorcycle, killing the 15-year veteran.
“I’m very honored they’re honoring my brother,” said Samra’s sister, Mary Ellen Mikola. “I wish they could do more of these things while they’re alive.”
State Attorney General Peter Harvey said the fallen officers left “a legacy of bravery, of courage, of selflessness.”
“They have engaged in one of the most difficult tasks on the face of the earth, and that is to put on the uniform and protect us from the evils that exist in society,” he said.
Police bagpipers and drummers played “Amazing Grace” as the names and photos of the fallen officers were projected onto two large overhead screens in the historic wood-paneled auditorium. An honor guard fired a salute outdoors, and Gov. James McGreevey hugged family members of the six most recently killed officers as they were led onto the stage.
“You have endured inestimable loss so that we may sleep more easily and live our lives more freely,” he told them.
The other officers killed last year were:
-- Mary Ann Collura, 43, Fair Lawn’s first female police officer. She was killed April 17, 2003, as she grappled with a suspect after a vehicle pursuit. Her killer later shot himself to death as police closed in on him in Florida.
“I don’t think a week goes by that there isn’t something for her, cards, letters, a service,” said her mother, Helen Collura. “It’s hard, but you take it day by day. Some days are better than others.”
-- Melvin Lisojo, 35, a Newark officer who was responding to a call when he was struck and killed by a drunken driver on June 24, 2003.
-- Arthur Olsen III, a Dover police officer responding to a call about a man on the railroad tracks when he was struck and killed by a train Dec. 30, 2003.
-- State trooper Bertram Zimmerman III, killed in a crash while responding to the scene of an armed robbery on Feb. 5, 2004. The man charged in the robbery is charged with felony murder in the trooper’s death.
-- Ken Brown, an Atlantic City Police sergeant who collapsed and died after helping quell a melee after a high school basketball game on March 10, 2004.