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Suspect took Officer's Patrol car and Fled to Paterson. Morlot Ave. and River Rd. (Fairlawn)is just over the bridge from Paterson, Passaic County, NJ's third-largest city. The Clifton police officer who assisted will live.

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Two N.J. Police Officers Shot

The Associated Press

April 18, 2003, 8:11 AM EDT

FAIR LAWN, N.J. -- A borough police officer was killed and a Clifton officer was wounded after a car chase that went through two counties and ended on the lawn of a Baptist church.

Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli confirmed early Friday that the Fair Lawn officer, Maryann Collura, 43, had died after being shot four times. The lifelong borough resident was the department's first woman officer, having joined the force in 1985 after serving as a special officer for more than two years.

The Clifton officer, who was not identified, was shot twice but was expected to survive. He was undergoing surgery at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson, according to Amelia Duggan, a hospital spokeswoman, but further details were not immediately available.

Molinelli declined to provide descriptions of the suspects, who remained at large early Friday. He said officers from several state and local law enforcement agencies in New Jersey and the New York City Police Department were involved in the manhunt.

Shortly after the shootings occurred, three men were detained after a massive door-to-door search in a three-block area of Paterson. No charges were filed against the men and they were later released, but police continued their extensive search, going door-to-door to search homes and vehicles in the area.

Molinelli said the chase began in Clifton late Thursday night and went through several towns before Fair Lawn police were notified around 10 p.m. that the fleeing red sports car had entered their jurisdiction. He said at least two suspects were in the vehicle, but it was not immediately clear why the car was being pursued by the Clifton officer.

A few minutes after the notification call, the driver apparently lost control of the car and it went up on the front lawn of the Van Riper Ellis/Broadway Baptist Church. Moments later, Collura arrived on the scene to assist the Clifton officer.

Molinelli said two suspects -- and possibly a third -- then ran from the vehicle to a parking lot in the back of the church, where one of the suspects was briefly apprehended. However, several shots soon rang out and the suspects fled after the officers were wounded.

The number of shots fired in the exchange was not immediately known, but Molinelli said the Clifton officer and at least one of the suspects were involved in the gun battle. Collura was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital, but it was not known if she died before reaching the facility.

"There was firing back on both sides, but we don't know if any of the suspects were hit," he said during an early morning news conference.

The suspects then fled the scene and at least one of them drove off in Collura's patrol car, which was later found abandoned about four miles away in Paterson.

While authorities quickly blocked off the area where the car was found and began an intensive search there, numerous officers continued to search for evidence at the church. Authorities, though, would not say whether any weapons or other evidence had been found at either location.

My father is a former police Sergeant in Montvale (Bergen County), and is now a real estate agent. One of his current clients was friends with the officer killed. Prayers for her family and for justice for the scumbag who killed her.

Suspect in custody in officer shooting

(04/18/03) FAIR LAWN - The Bergen prosecutor says one suspect is in custody in connection with the fatal shooting of a Fair Lawn police officer. Police are still searching for two other suspects involved in the shootout that killed Officer MaryAnn Collura and wounded a Clifton cop.

The prosecutor says a number of weapons have been uncovered during the investigation, but he failed to provide any more details.

Officer Collura was helping Clifton Police Officer Steven Farrell, who was involved in a chase with a red sports car. The officers chased the car through two counties before getting the car to stop on a church's front lawn.

Authorities say when the officers tried to arrest the people in the car, shots were exchanged. Collura was shot four times and killed. Farell was rushed to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center where he underwent surgery for bullet wounds to his arm and leg. He is listed in stable condition.

Collura, who was Fair Lawn's first female police officer, joined the department in 1985.

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	Fair Lawn PD Mourns Officer Killed in the Line of Duty



The Fair Lawn Police Department sadly announces the line of duty death of Officer Mary Ann Collura. Officer Collura was fatally shot by the suspect she was trying to arrest. Officer Collura, 43, was an 18 year veteran of the Fair Lawn Police Department, beginning her career on January 2, 1985. Prior to her appointment to the police department, Officer Collura spent three years as a volunteer with the Fair Lawn Police Reserves. Officer Collura was born in New York City. She was a graduate of Fair Lawn High School and had attended William Patterson College. She was a life-long resident of Fair Lawn. Officer Collura was a certified NJ Police Training Commission instructor and had served as one of the department's firearms officers and armorer. She was also certified as a Police Carbine Instructor. Officer Collura had received numerous awards including a departmental Meritorious Service Award and the Hackensack University Medical Center EMS Excellence Award for saving a life with a defibrillator. In 1999, it was Officer Collura's suggestion that the elementary school children be given glowing light sticks to wear at night when trick-or-treating. Her project has been repeated every year since. Officer Collura is survived by her mother, Helen, her brother Paul, and her sisters Patricia Snyder and Linda Hughes. Mary Ann Collura was a well-respected and well-loved member of the Fair Lawn Police Department. She will be sadly missed. Visit the guest book to share a fond memory of Mary Ann. May she Rest in Peace.

Police ID suspected cop killer

Sunday, April 20, 2003

By ASHANTI M. ALVAREZ
STAFF WRITER

OMAR MARTI

Police on Saturday identified a 23-year-old Passaic man as the murder suspect who shot Fair Lawn Police Officer Mary Ann Collura and then ran over her with her patrol car on a church lawn Thursday night.

"Defendant Omar Marti is still at large," said Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli. "He is not only at large, he is on the move, and he is armed and dangerous."

"We've notified all borders, all train stations, all airports," Molinelli said.

The search Saturday was widespread, but concentrated on Broome County, N.Y., more than 100 miles from the site of the shooting. More than 50 officers were searching a dozen locations Marti might have frequented in the Broome County area the past two years, according to a law enforcement official.

"Local agencies certainly are aware of him. They know who he is," said a spokesman for the police command post in Johnson City, N.Y. "We have a list of quite a few people to interview."

Without elaborating, Molinelli said Marti was spotted at the Port Authority Bus Terminal near Times Square on Friday morning, and is believed to have headed north or west. Pennsylvania is also considered a possible hiding spot.

As police continued the search for Marti, who is also accused of shooting Clifton Officer Steven Farrell on Thursday, they announced that three of Marti's relatives were in custody and a fourth charged and released on bail. Among them is Omar's brother Victor Marti II, who is allegedly his accomplice in drug dealing.

Police also filed charges against the brothers' father, Victor Marti Sr., who is accused of helping Omar Marti elude justice, and has previously been charged with dealing crack and marijuana. The resolution of the charges against the father could not be determined Saturday, but police said he has a criminal record.

"This guy is no role model of a father," said Mike Mordaga, chief of detectives for the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office.

In Paterson, Clifton police gathered at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, where Farrell was said to be in good spirits Saturday after suffering gunshot wounds in the elbow and both legs. He may require additional surgery, but is expected to recover with the help of physical therapy, said Clifton Chief Robert Ferreri.

In Fair Lawn, the healing may take much longer. Residents, still stunned by the death of the borough's first female police officer, gathered outside the municipal building to pay respects at a small memorial. Others expressed condolences on the borough police department's Web site.

"I cannot believe Mary Ann is gone," one message said. "It all seems like a dream that we all will awake from. She was a great cop that went the extra mile for someone in need ... she will be missed deeply by so many, and never will be forgotten."

Her funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Anne Roman Catholic Church in Fair Lawn.

On Saturday, authorities said interviews with suspects in custody, witnesses, and Farrell helped them piece together the following account of the shooting and escape:

At about 9:45 p.m. Thursday Omar Marti was behind the wheel of a 1989 Nissan 280 with his cousin Ivan Marti in the passenger seat. They were trailed by a white Ford Escort station wagon owned by Omar and driven by Victor Marti II. According to police, the trio had 4 ounces of marijuana packaged in small plastic baggies ready to sell.

They got on Route 46 eastbound in Clifton, where Farrell was on patrol.

But Victor Marti II didn't have a license, and when he saw Farrell's patrol car, he panicked and sped off.

Farrell began to trail the speeding vehicles. He checked the license plate number on the Nissan, but came back with no registration information. Police aren't yet sure why that happened, but they were able to trace the vehicle identification number to Victor Marti Sr. - their first connection between the killing and the Marti family.

The three cars sped north on Route 20 through Paterson.

Reports indicating that something was thrown from the Nissan are still vague, Molinelli said. As of Saturday night investigators had not found anything.

The three cars crossed the Morlot Avenue bridge into Fair Lawn and raced several blocks toward the Van Riper Ellis/Broadway Baptist Church. Omar lost control of the Nissan, which jumped a curb onto the church's lawn. Victor Marti II lingered in the area in the other vehicle.

Ivan Marti threw his hands up in surrender for a brief moment, then ran. Omar Marti sprinted toward the rear of the church with Farrell on his heels.

"At this time, Collura joined, notified by the Clifton Police Department," Molinelli said.

Farrell and Omar Marti tussled on the ground. When the officer tried to use his pepper spray to restrain him, the suspect pulled out a .357 Magnum and fired two or three rounds into Collura. One bullet struck Collura in the neck, rupturing a major artery. Another hit her in the lower abdomen. She fell to the ground.

Omar Marti then fired at Farrell. The suspect jumped up, got into Collura's patrol car, and took off in a hail of bullets from Farrell's 9mm Beretta - but not before trying to mow down Farrell. He ran over Collura, leaving her with a fractured arm and several broken ribs. She was pronounced dead at St. Joseph's.

Backup had already arrived, and additional patrol cars gave chase. Omar Marti abandoned the patrol car at Broadway and 31st Street in Paterson. Inside the patrol car, police later found the .357 Magnum pistol they said was used to kill Collura and shoot Farrell. They found a second gun near the shootings.

Back in Fair Lawn, Victor Marti II had been waiting in the Ford near the church.

Ivan Marti had fled on foot to 5th Street in Fair Lawn, and called Victor Marti II asking for a ride. Victor brought him back to the Paulison Avenue house in Passaic where most of the family lives.

Then Omar Marti called. He was hiding on a street corner in Paterson. His brother picked him up and brought him back to the Paulison Avenue home as well.

After his sons were back home in Passaic, the elder Victor Marti dropped off Omar Marti at an undisclosed location in Passaic, from where he would continue his flight from authorities. Then Victor Marti Sr. took his other son to two Passaic social clubs, trying to formulate an alibi for Victor Marti II

Authorities had made significant headway into the investigation when Ivan Marti gave himself up Friday and was charged with drug and weapons offenses and hindering apprehension. Later that day, Victor Marti II and Victor Marti Sr. were arrested without incident. The son was charged with hindering apprehension and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. The father was charged with hindering apprehension.

Also arrested was a third brother, Joseph Marti, 36. He was released on $10,000 bail and charged with hindering apprehension for allegedly knowing where his wanted brother was hiding but not telling police.

All the Martis except Ivan live on Paulison Avenue in Passaic in a brickface yellow home. On Saturday, the windows were shut tightly, and all the shades drawn. No one answered a knock on the door.

At Ivan Marti's residence on Linwood Avenue in Paterson, a sign reading "God Bless America" and a plaque with a religious quote in Spanish hang on the front door.

On the steps in front of her home, Ivan Marti's stepmother, Evonne, said the message on the door embodies her family and her stepson.

"We are law-abiding citizens. We are for the law," Evonne said, her brown eyes tearing. "Ivan would never take life away from nobody, Ivan would never do a thing like that. Never."

She declined to give her last name. A man who identified himself as Ivan's father stressed that his son turned himself into police.

"My son gave up first," said the man, with his hands in the air to demonstrate.

Records from the state Department of Corrections indicate that Ivan Marti served about two years in prison for a robbery and was released in 1998.

Omar Marti had been arrested before for an alleged drug offense, but the resolution of that case could not be determined Saturday.

Flanked by about 25 officers from Fair Lawn, Clifton, Paterson, and other agencies, Molinelli would not comment on Omar Marti's record other than to say he is not permitted to own a gun.

"At this point in time, it wouldn't matter to me if it was his first offense,'' Molinelli said of the shooting. "The one purpose on Omar Marti's mind was to kill both officers.''

OMAR MARTI, Passaic

Allegedly killed Fair Lawn Officer Mary Ann Collura.
Allegedly wounded Clifton Officer Steven Farrell.
Charged with murder, attempted murder, possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, possession of |marijuana with intent to |distribute, carjacking, |possession of burglary tools.
At large and considered armed and dangerous.

* * *

Prosecutor's Office account of shooting and suspect's escape:
Omar Marti and cousin Ivan Marti are on Route 46 in Clifton in a red Nissan 280. Riding nearby in a white Ford Escort station wagon is Omar Marti's brother, Victor Marti II. Police said they were transporting marijuana.
Clifton Officer Steven Farrell is on his regular patrol and begins to pursue the two cars, believing they are speeding.
The chase leads to Fair Lawn, where Omar Marti jumps the Nissan over a curb and skids through a church parking lot. Farrell chases Omar Marti toward the rear parking lot of the church. Fair Lawn Police Officer Mary Ann Collura arrives as backup.
Farrell and Omar Marti struggle on the ground. As Farrell reaches for his pepper spray, Omar Marti shoots Collura at least twice, then shoots Farrell.
Farrell fires his gun at Omar Marti as he flees in Collura's patrol car. Omar Marti runs over Collura, who is pronounced dead soon after.
Omar Marti escapes to Paterson, where he leaves the car.
In Fair Lawn, Victor Marti II gets calls from Ivan and Omar Marti. He picks them up separately and takes them to the family home in Passaic.
In Passaic, Victor Marti Sr., father of Omar and Victor Marti II, drops off Omar Marti at an undisclosed site.
Victor Sr. and Victor II go to two social clubs in Passaic, trying to build an alibi for the younger man.
Within seven hours of the shooting, Omar Marti is apparently spotted at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan, possibly headed north. The search focuses on Broome County, N.Y., where Omar Marti is said to have lived in recent years.

Staff Writers John Brennan, Catherine Holahan, Jean Rimbach, and Eman Varoqua contributed to this article. Ashanti M. Alvarez's e-mail address is alvarez@northjersey.com

Fallen hero hailed as 'peacemaker and protector'

Thursday, April 24, 2003, By KAREN MAHABIR and ANDREW GLAZER,STAFF WRITERS

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A hushed silence fell as limousines carrying flowers slowly rolled by.

Mourners gasped and sobbed as Fair Lawn Police Officer Mary Ann Collura's shift-mates marched her flag-covered casket up the stone steps of St. Anne's Roman Catholic Church in the borough. Next to the hearse stood a horse with two empty black boots in the stirrups. A police baton was fastened to the saddle.

JAMES W. ANNESS/THE RECORD

Photo by: JAMES W. ANNESS ..Fellow Fair Lawn police officers carrying the casket of Mary Ann Collura up the steps of St. Anne's Roman Catholic Church in the borough on Wednesday

Last Thursday, a drug dealer allegedly gunned down Collura and then ran over her with her own patrol car on a church lawn. She had raced to the church to assist a Clifton officer pursuing the suspect.

On Wednesday, officers from throughout the state and beyond came to support Collura's family. The gathering was estimated at 7,500.

Outside, drummers beat a slow tempo as officers stood in formation, 12 deep over three blocks. Honor guards facing the church raised American, New Jersey, and local police department flags, and more than 150 officers rode by on motorcycles.

About 1,500 people packed St. Anne's, including dozens of Clifton officers.

Among them was Officer Steven Farrell, who survived multiple gunshot wounds from Collura's killer. Sniffles turned to sobs as he entered in a wheelchair.

Speaking in the church where she was baptized, colleagues remembered and celebrated Collura, Fair Lawn's first female officer, as both a tough cop and a caring community member.

"Mary Ann was a fighter," said Fair Lawn Police Detective David Boone, a friend of Collura's for 23 years, as he spoke of her determination to return to work following recent heart surgery. "Mary Ann died doing what she loved doing best, and that was being a police officer and serving others."

Collura's niece, Amy Klenke, spoke of her aunt's enthusiasm for life, calling her a "peacemaker and protector."

"She broke down many barriers, and she did so with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye,'' Klenke said. "She changed many perceptions by the way she lived her life and the way she performed in her chosen profession."

One lighter moment came when Police Officer David DeLucca recalled an incident before he joined the force, when he "had some trouble'' during a high school softball marathon and was arrested by Collura.

"I wasn't happy about the situation, but Mary spoke to me and made me feel comfortable, even though I had just been arrested,'' he said. "In '88, I had the opportunity to be a Fair Lawn police officer. When I saw Mary after I got sworn in, she said, 'Aren't you the one I arrested at the marathon?' I said 'Yes,' and she said, 'Don't worry about it. You're one of us now.'"

A longtime borough resident, Collura attended Fair Lawn High School and joined the force in 1985, fulfilling her life's dream. She had attended William Paterson College and spent three years as a volunteer with the Fair Lawn Police Reserves before joining the force.

Collura, 43, was a certified New Jersey Training Commission instructor, as well as one of the department's firearms instructors. She earned several awards, including the Hackensack University Medical Center EMS Excellence Award for saving a life with a defibrillator.

Just before Halloween 1999, she launched a program to give elementary school children glowing light sticks to wear at night for safety - a projectthat has been repeated every year since.

Police say Collura was killed by Omar Marti of Passaic, who was struggling with Farrell after a chase from Clifton to Fair Lawn. Marti, who police said sold drugs and weapons with his family, eluded capture for three days. He was killed Sunday morning during a shootout on a Florida country road. He purportedly told friends he would not be taken alive.

"We believe that Thursday night, Mary Ann came face to face with the God that she loved," said the Rev. John McCrone, chaplain for the state and county Patrolmen's Benevolent associations. "Physical separation does not mean that her love is over for us or that our love is over for her."

As Wednesday's service came to an end, Fair Lawn officers took their posts around Collura's casket and cried as they led the procession out of the church, followed by Collura's family.

A few people came out of stores to watch as hundreds of police officers - on motorcycles, in police cars, and in buses - traveled north on Route 17 on their way to the cemetery.

"This is awesome," said Jim Hague of Fair Lawn, as he shook his head in sorrow. Hague, who came with his family to Route 17, said he wanted to watch the procession to pay respect to the fallen officer whom his son, an officer with the Bergen County Sheriff's Department, had known.

As the motorcycles, in double rows and with lights flashing, escorted the hearse, Hague took off his black baseball cap and held it over his heart.

"They just keep coming," he said. "Have you ever seen anything like this? I haven't."

Under gathering clouds, the procession came over the Century Road hill into George Washington Memorial Park, passing the statue of the nation's first president as honor guards in dress uniforms from various towns formed a large circle around the gravesite.

Hundreds of officers also arrived on foot and marched up the hill to the grave.

Dave Vanderweit of Fair Lawn, a cemetery worker for 15 years, stood at the barrier blocking the road into the cemetery and watched.

"It's sure the largest funeral I've ever seen," he said, adding that he had heard how highly Collura was regarded in the community.

Family members say they hope Collura's unique character and wanderlust will continue to be celebrated.

Klenke said during the ceremony that she and Collura used to go on "adventures."

"We would look at a map and pick a place as vague as, say, Virginia. And we would load up the car with junk food and hit the road," she said.

"When I got in the passenger seat, she would toss me a map or two and say, 'Just tell me where I need to turn.' Now she's gone on her final adventure without me, and I'll have to drive myself now if I want to get anywhere in life. But I know I won't need any maps, because all I have to do is follow her example and I'll know where to turn."

Fair Lawn PBA Local 67 has established a scholarship fund in Mary Ann Collura's name. Donations can be made to: Officer Mary Ann Collura Memorial Scholarship Fund, PBA Local 67, P.O. Box 276, Fair Lawn, N.J. 07410.

Staff Writers Charles Austin and Merry Firschein contributed to this article.
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Sterling Silver Police Protection St. Michael Meda

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Cop-killing suspect's brother surrenders

Wednesday, May 7, 2003

The brother of suspected cop killer Omar Marti turned himself in to authorities Tuesday on charges that he and his father grew marijuana in the attic of their Passaic home.

Victor Marti Jr. and his father, Victor Marti Sr., are also charged with aiding the escape of Omar Marti, who led police on a chase April 17, shot and killed a Fair Lawn officer, and then died in a Florida shootout with police two days later.

A day after the Fair Lawn shooting, police searched the Marti home in Passaic and found 10 marijuana plants and $3,000 worth of hydroponic growing equipment, said Salvatore Bellomo, Passaic County chief assistant prosecutor.

The Martis were first charged with the drug offenses last week. The elder Marti, 53, is still being held in the Bergen County Jail on the escape charges, but the younger Marti, 24, had been free on $150,000 bail.

He had arranged to surrender during his state Superior Court arraignment in Paterson. He pleaded not guilty, and was led back into a holding cell after the judge refused to lower his $250,000 bail for the drug crimes.

Defense lawyer Adolph Galluccio argued for a lower bail, noting that his client turned himself in to face the escape charges as well as the drug crimes. He also said he intends to prove his client did not live at the address where the marijuana was allegedly grown.

Judge Marilyn Clark said she decided not to change the bail because of the seriousness of the crimes and the fact that the defendant has a 1998 conviction for resisting arrest.

Father and son are charged with maintaining a production facility, drug possession with intent to distribute, and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school and 500 feet of a park.

If convicted, they face up to 10 years in prison.

Jennifer V. Hughes' e-mail address is jughesj@northjersey.com

Fair Lawn cop's killing hangs heavy over Blue Mass

Photo by: KEVIN R. WEXLER

Paterson Bishop Frank J. Rodimer leaving St. John the Baptist Cathedral after Wednesday's Blue Mass, honoring police officers who have died.

PATERSON

The annual Blue Mass honoring fallen law enforcement officers took on a new meaning Wednesday.

About 300 people attended the service at St. John the Baptist Cathedral to pay tribute to officers killed in the line of duty and those who have simply passed away.

But the Mass was more emotional than usual as officers remembered Mary Ann Collura of the Fair Lawn Police Department. She died in a shooting three weeks ago outside a church less than four miles from Wednesday's ceremony.

Police officers and relatives bowed their heads, recited prayers along with Bishop Frank Rodimer, and greeted their colleagues with solemn nods.

Some, such as the mother of Paterson police Sgt. Enrico Venditte, who was shot to death two years ago, could not stand the emotion and had to escape the church into the hazy morning sun on Main Street.

"She just couldn't take it anymore," said Paterson Detective Sgt. Ricardo Reyes. "These things are very emotional for the families."

Wednesday's ceremony was the fourth Blue Mass held by the Diocese of Paterson, which serves Passaic, Sussex, and Morris counties.

Worshipers also paid tribute to state Trooper Christopher Scales, who was killed in the line of duty last year, and the 141 American soldiers killed in Iraq.

Each year, a fresh tragedy seems to give new meaning to the service - last year it was the 9/11 attacks and Venditte's death. This year, it was Collura and Scales.

Scales did not die at the hands of a criminal, but his loss was painful for police officers nonetheless, Reyes said. He was performing seat belt safety checks on the New Jersey Turnpike in December when a tanker truck struck him and dragged him 40 feet.

Passaic County Prosecutor James Avigliano highlighted Scales' "fearless performance and energetic duty" during a prayer.

Then he praised Collura, who he said always "felt it was important to temper justice with mercy."

Collura died during a police chase that started in Clifton the night of April 17 and ended minutes later outside a River Road church in Fair Lawn.

Omar Marti fatally shot Collura and wounded a Clifton police officer. He was a fugitive for two days before he died in a shootout with police in Florida.

Fair Lawn Lt. Bob Kneer, commander of the New Jersey state honor guard, orchestrated a march of about 20 police officers. They came from different departments' honor guards - Clifton, Paterson, Paterson fire, Fair Lawn, state police, the Passaic County Sheriff's Department, and the U.S. Army and Marine Corps.

Kneer pulled them together before entering the cathedral by barking forceful but encouraging orders. Some officers likened the performance to the way many departments came together to hunt down Collura's killer in the hours and days following her death.

"It's a brotherhood and sisterhood we have here," said Kneer, a 30-year veteran of the department.

He made a point to include sisterhood, a notion commonly left out during police memorials.

Kneer said he thought of Collura during the entire Mass. Collura was the first woman hired by the department and spent three years as a Fair Lawn police reservist before she began her 18-year career as an officer.

Kneer and Fair Lawn's police chief said that even though the public would eventually move on as the sensational details of her death grow foggier with time, they would not. They could not.

"Much of the public forgets, but we never forget," said Chief Rodman Marshall.

Kneer was there when Collura received an award for exceptional duty eight years ago. It's a special moment for him, Kneer said, because he's the one who pinned the medal on her lapel.

Collura was a 10-year veteran at the time. While off-duty, she saw a man committing a crime, followed him into Paterson, and wrestled with him until she had him restrained - or "stuffed and cuffed" in police lingo, Kneer said.

"I watched her grow up on the force," Kneer said after sliding a sword with ornate etchings into its sheath and rolling up an honor guard flag after the Mass. "She's still wearing that medal, along with the four others she received."

Ashanti M. Alvarez's e-mail address is alvarez@northjersey.com http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2Mzc1OTgx

Fair Lawn policewoman's name is added to memorial

Thursday, May 22, 2003

By RAGHURAM VADAREVU
STAFF WRITER

Photo by: BETH BALBIERZ

Police officers bowing their heads Wednesday as the honor roll was read during the annual Bergen County memorial service for fallen officers.

Two decades ago, David Boone saw Mary Ann Collura's zeal for police work up close - before Collura had even become an officer.

The two Fair Lawn police reserves were in a patrol car on a snow-covered road when they received a report of a large knife fight nearby. The regular officers were just beginning a shift at headquarters, a good distance away. So, with Collura driving, the two neophytes closed in.

THE PRICE
By Det. David Boone, Fair Lawn PD

They say that the ultimate price is a life,

A life that is lived for others!

They say that the ultimate price can't be paid,

Unless that life is given for others.

The men and women that we honor here,

Have all lived their lives for others!

The men and women who served us in blue,

Have given their lives for others!

And so on this day we ever reflect,

On those who have given their lives!

They paid the price with their very lives,

That safety might reign for others!

A block away, Boone stopped her. They should wait for backup, he urged.

"Even in her 20s, she was willing to put her life on the line," Boone, now a Fair Lawn detective, said at the annual Bergen County memorial service Wednesday for officers who died in the line of duty.

Rain forced the event indoors at the Law and Public Safety Institute in Mahwah. Attending were, among others, Collura's family, Sheriff Joel G. Trella, Prosecutor John Molinelli, County Executive Dennis McNerney, and a few hundred police officers in suits or dress blues.

Collura, 43, was the first woman to have her name etched on the shiny, gray memorial outside the entrance to the academy. There are 38 names on the memorial.

An 18-year borough veteran and Fair Lawn's first female officer, Collura was fatally shot April 17 as she backed up a Clifton patrolman.

Moments earlier, Omar Marti had led Clifton Officer Steven Farrell on a car chase that ended outside a River Road church in Fair Lawn. As Farrell tried to subdue him, Marti pulled and fired a handgun, wounding the Clifton officer and killing Collura. Marti, who authorities said sold drugs and guns with his family, died days later in a shootout with police in Florida.

"A call for assistance from another department was all it took - Mary Ann was on her way," Fair Lawn Police Chief Rodman Marshall told those at the service, including Farrell. "She was killed by a piece of garbage masquerading as a human being.

"We'll never know who was saved because those drugs weren't sold or that gun wasn't bought and used by another criminal."

Throughout the hour-long service,

organized by the Bergen County Police Chiefs Association and the Bergen County Police Benevolent Association Conference, speakers repeated the annual wish that no new names ever be added to the wall.

But, given the nature of the job, they acknowledged that more names are inevitable - especially as officers assume new responsibilities in preventing and responding to terrorism.

"Hopefully we can go a few years without adding another name," Trella said.

A longtime borough resident, Collura attended Fair Lawn High School and joined the force in 1985, fulfilling her life's dream. She had attended William Paterson College and spent three years as a volunteer with the Fair Lawn Police Reserves before joining the Police Department.

Now a police chaplain, Boone recited a poem he wrote long before Collura's death. Among the lines:

They paid the price with their very lives

That safety might reign for others!

The playing of taps and a 21-gun salute were among the tributes at the observance, which has been held annually at the academy since 1965. As the service concluded, officers from a dozen police departments and other groups placed wreaths at the 7-foot-high memorial wall.

They returned to the auditorium, where officers from Fair Lawn PBA Local 67 showed Collura's mother, Helen, a memorial stone engraved with her daughter's name. On the verge of tears, Helen Collura pulled a black drape from the stone. Then she walked back to her seat in the front row alongside other loved ones.

The stone will be inserted into the walkway at the memorial.

Raghuram Vadarevu's e-mail address is vadarevu@northjersey.com

Fair Lawn police say thank you

Thursday, June 12, 2003

By CHARLES AUSTIN
STAFF WRITER

FAIR LAWN - Today the same "long arm of the law" that nabs suspects on the run will reach across the miles to embrace fellow officers who risk their lives.

Two Fair Lawn police officers are carrying their department's thanks to Florida, where cops tracked down the man believed to have slain Fair Lawn Officer Mary Ann Collura on April 17.

The suspect, Omar Marti of Passaic, was killed three days later as he exited his vehicle firing at police in Florida.

Detective Lt. Robert Kneer and Officer David Boone are scheduled to accompany Mayor David Ganz and Councilman Allan Caan for presentations to sheriffs' departments in Hernando and Sumter counties in Florida. Ceremonies are scheduled for this afternoon at the headquarters of both departments and will include representatives of other Florida law enforcement agencies.

Sumter County Sheriff William Farmer said the presentations of certificates and keys symbolize the brotherhood of the police community.

"We're sworn to protect and serve the public, and we take it very seriously when something happens to one of our own, wherever they are," Farmer said. "We consider it a great honor for the mayor and the others to be coming down here."

Some of the Sumter County officers, who finally halted Marti's car with "stop strips" that ripped out the tires of his car, didn't know they were pursuing a suspected cop killer, the sheriff said, "but it was clear to us that he wanted to get away or die."

Hernando County Sheriff Richard Nugent said his officers initiated the chase when they spotted Marti that Easter - based on tips from New Jersey - and had already called for a SWAT team when Marti jumped in his car and began firing out the back window. Nugent said he was thankful that no officers were hurt by the shots Marti fired from several weapons. The Hernando County officers were especially alert to the danger because officers from the department had been involved in several shootouts in the past two years.

"And we just came back from a funeral" a few days before, the sheriff explained. He said his officers were mourning the loss of a deputy in a nearby county shot just two weeks before his scheduled retirement.

Mayor Ganz said that certificates and keys would be presented to 15 individuals and about a dozen Florida law enforcement agencies involved in tracking and apprehending Marti.

For the mayor, the trip is "a chance to pay tribute and homage to those able to risk their lives to bring closure to the Fair Lawn community and all who mourn the life of Officer Collura."

But he said the night before his departure "I hope I never have to do this again."

Three win stipends to honor slain cop

Friday, June 13, 2003
By CHARLES AUSTIN, STAFF WRITER

FAIR LAWN - One will work toward a business degree and play football at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. Another will study journalism at Arizona State University. A third will enter Ramapo College, preparing to don the uniform of a police officer.

The high school seniors - Alan Annazone, Brian Camen, and Michael Franco - are the first recipients of scholarships given by the Fair Lawn Policemen's Benevolent Association in memory of borough Officer Mary Ann Collura, slain in the line of duty April 17.

Detective David Delucca said the scholarships were designed to give special honor to Collura as "a police officer who was strong, vibrant, full of life, and believed in her family and her community." The PBA intends to present the scholarships annually, with money collected in a special fund created shortly after her death April 17.

Collura, an 18-year veteran of the Fair Lawn police force, was shot and killed on the front lawn of Van Riper-Ellis Broadway Baptist Church in Fair Lawn as she tried to apprehend a fleeing suspect.

Camen, the journalism student, said it was "definitely a high honor to get an award like this at this time." Franco said he would always consider the slain officer as an example to follow in his own law enforcement career. Annazone and Franco will each receive $1,000, and Camen's scholarship is for $500.

Though hundreds of awards were presented for academic honors and in memory of deceased residents of Fair Lawn, Delucca was the only presenter who made brief remarks to the more than 1,000 seniors, teachers, and parents gathered for the annual awards ceremony. Collura was a graduate of Fair Lawn High.

Other awards also honored the murdered officer. The Fair Lawn Athletic Club Old Timer's Scholarship - a $1,500 award - was given in memory of Collura to Manan Naik, and a $400 scholarship in her memory was given to Kelly Hughes by the Fair Lawn All Sports Association.

The awards were presented at a two-hour-long ceremony at the high school Thursday morning. Though the memory of the murdered officer injected solemn moments into the annual ritual, the mood was upbeat as students marched to the stage to hug their teachers and receive the honors. Applause filled the auditorium when the names of seniors entering military service - one through the U.S. Military Academy at West Point - were read.

A guidance counselor who presented several scholarships drew laughs when she mistakenly announced a $1,000 award as a $100,000 scholarship. Students loudly cheered their friends' achievements, and some chuckled when a classmate received a scholarship from the International House of Pancakes, one of several local businesses that honored seniors.6390866