NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — More than 30 fallen police officers were being honored at the 28th annual Blue Mass in Newark on Thursday.
Hundreds of members of law enforcement in New Jersey and their families filed into the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Ridge Street to pay tribute to those lost, CBS2’s Natalie Duddridge reported.
Among them were friends and loved ones of 42-year-old U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was originally from South River, New Jersey. He died after a mob stormed the Capitol, interrupting the electoral count on Jan. 6.
Det. Joseph Seals of the Jersey City Police Department was 39 years old when he was shot and killed at Bayview Cemetery as part of the domestic terror attack on a Jewish business in December 2019. He was a 13-year veteran, husband and father of five.
Officers said this year has been especially heavy, with so many lives during the pandemic.
“The last 18 months have been particularly difficult for the city of Newark Police Department. We’ve lost nine members, just to the coronavirus, alone, in the line of duty. So that’s fully one-third of all police-related deaths in the state of New Jersey,” Newark Public Safety Director Brian O’Hara said.
CBS2 will have more on this story on the News at 5 p.m.
from CBS New York https://ift.tt/2Izr88c
