Crowds pour in to honor fallen Utica Police Officer, two years later
Story Created:
Apr 14, 2009 at 3:02 PM EST
Story Updated:
Apr 15, 2009 at 7:55 AM EST
UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) - It was April 12, 2007, when Officer Thomas Lindsey was killed while making a traffic stop on Neilson street in Utica.
Now, two years later, a man has been convicted for his death, and as evidenced by a memorial mass held Tuesday morning at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Utica - time may go on without him, but friends and family are committed to keeping the memory of Thomas Lindsey alive.
"It's so wonderful what they've done for my son and they continue to do," said Carmella Lindsey-Schisler, the late officer's mother.
Those who worked with Lindsey say the large crowds still pouring into the memorial two years after his death shows not only support for the individual, but support for what he stood for as well.
"It's not just about remembering Tom," said Deputy Chief Michael Bailey of the Utica Police Department. "It's about the whole community coming together. And it's about the whole community coming together and supporting all of us."
"I think it's great. It tells you what kind of person he was and what kind of officer he was," said Former Utica Public Safety Commissioner Phil Taurisano. "There's nothing like the camaraderie of the men in blue."
That camaraderie poured over from various departments and agencies - be they Utica Police Department, Fire Departments, State Police, or New Hartford - who had lost one of their own, Officer Joseph Corr, roughly a year earlier.
"Our need for healing in our local community...at Tom's death and Joe Corr's death...there is still an obvious need for all of us," said Father Joseph Salerno of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Utica. "He touched the lives of our community as a police officer but also he touched the lives of many people as a man, and as a friend."
"He was a real good kid in high school, he was a friend to everybody," said Dan Boyle, who said he went to high school with Lindsey. "If you had a problem, he was always there for you. And it's hard to believe it's been two years."
After the memorial mass, flowers were laid here at a memorial setup for Lindsey on the 1100 block of Neilson Street, where the murder occurred.
The man convicted of that murder - Wesley Molina Cirino, AKA "Flaco" - was convicted in May 2008, and is currently serving a life sentence in state prison.
