Newark Star-Ledger
Officer Down: Tommaso Popolizio
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Thousands of police officers from New Jersey and around the metro area surrounded a Newark cathedral this morning in tribute to Sgt. Tommaso Popolizio, a hometown boy who on Saturday became the city’s 50th cop to die in the line of duty.
The officers, stading at attention in a light snow shower, saluted in silence as a hearse carrying Popolizio’s coffin made its way to the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, a massive church that stands at the city’s highest point.
Inside, at the end of a two-hour mass, Newark Mayor Cory Booker called Popolizio “a great Newark cop who put his uniform on day after day and went into the highest calling of service in our city.”
Police Director Garry McCarthy said it was impossible to make sense of Popolizio’s death while chasing a drag racing suspect who had stolen a patrol car. But, he said, “we can make sense of his life because Tommy made a difference in this world.”
McCarthy then promoted Popolizio’s brother, Pasquale, also a Newark cop, to sergeant and gave him his dead brother’s badge, number 305.
A third brother, Nicola, also an officer, died of a heart attack last year.
The service ended with a team of bagpipers and drummers filling the 1,600-seat cathedral with the spiritual “Amazing Grace.”
Popolizio, a 33-year-old father of four, was killed early Saturday when his marked Ford Explorer flipped during the chase of a drag-racing suspect who had stolen a patrol car on Doremus Avenue.
The suspect, William Rodriguez, was charged with aggravated manslaughter, along with a slew of other offenses. He pleaded not guilty on Tuesday and remains jailed on $1 million bail.
“Tommy Popolizio’s legacy is not in the way he died, but in the way he lived,” McCarthy said. “It’s an enormous legacy for the entire agency and we intend to carry it with pride.”
Contributed by Jonathan Schuppe
Copyright 2007 Newark Star-Ledger