“Unconscionable,” was how Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw described the number of police officers and firefighters lost since 2019.
The Living Flame Memorial Service was put on hold in 2020 and 2021, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and the 14 who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty during that time were finally honored at a ceremony in Franklin Square Park on Wednesday afternoon.
Philadelphia’s top brass, including Police Commissioner Outlaw, Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel, along with Mayor Jim Kenney, Pa. Governor Tom Wolf, and FOP president John McNesby, shared a stage to honor the fallen:
- Sergeant James O’Connor
- Captain James Walker
- Sergeant Jos Novoa
- Officer Tab Ali
- Captain Frank Milillo
- Sergeant Joseph Youse
- Officer Erin Tokley
- Officer Vladimir Maleev
- Corporal Deborah Rosaria, of the Philadelphia Police Department
- Firefighter Michael Bernstein
- Firefighter Eric M. Gore
- Fireboat Pilot John Evans
- Lieutenant Charles Grover
- Lieutenant Terrence Gordon, of the Philadelphia Fire Department.
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Family members found the names of their loved ones at the Living Flame Memorial in Philadelphia’s Franklin Square Park on May 4, 2022. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY) -
The Living Flame Memorial Service on May 4, 2022. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY) -
Family members who lost loved ones from any time are invited to the Living Flame Memorial Service to honor police officers and firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty by placing flowers on their names. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY) -
The Living Flame Memorial Service on May 4, 2022. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel told family members that all in the department were bruised and scarred by the losses, and recalled when COVID-19 shut down the world, the police and fire departments of Philadelphia were not shut down.
Fire Department Chaplain William Speakes comforted grieving family members in attendance with prayer. “There is no greater love than to lay down their lives for a friend,” he said.
Their names are now forever etched on the Living Flame Memorial, where their loved ones laid red and white carnations.
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Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel, Mayor Jim Kenney, and Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw thanked family members of fallen police and firefighters at the entrance to the living flame memorial in Franklin Square Park, on May 4, 2022. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY) -
Family members of fallen police and firefighters placed flowers on their names at the the 2022 Living Flame Memorial Service, which honored 14 service members killed in the line of duty since 2019, at Franklin Square Park in Philadelphia on May 4, 2022. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY) -
The Living Flame Memorial Service on May 4, 2022. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY) -
A Philadelphia police officer offered tissues to grieving family members at the Living Flame Memorial Service on May 4, 2022. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
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