Hero Greenwich Police Officer Defies the Odds and Returns to Duty After Partial Leg Amputation

GREENWICH, CT – A local member of the Greenwich Police Department has joined a small, state-wide club after returning to work this week.

Officer Frank DiPietro has been on a long road of surgeries and medical treatments since falling from a ladder while off-duty in 2014. This long journey culminated in November, when he successfully underwent surgery that involved the partial amputation of his right leg.

It seems, however, that his journey will not end there.

“After months of a challenging and a medically complex recovery process,” Lieutenant Kraig Gray said in an email, “Frank is now one of a half-dozen police officers in Connecticut to return to full duty after losing a limb.”

Before undergoing 13 months of multiple surgeries, rehab and therapy, DiPietro was a 13-year veteran Marine officer who has been cited for his heroics on the Greenwich waterfront. He was also an instructor in ice water rescues.

The Greenwich-native DiPietro made headlines in 2013 for jumping onto an out of control speedboat on Long Island Sound and bringing it under control. His partner, Marine Officer Sean Fox, was at the helm of the department’s 39-foot boat when Greenwich and several other area agencies tried to stop the vessel, whose captain and crew fell overboard.

Fox was eventually able to motor alongside the boat and DiPietro made a Superman-like leap onto it and shut off the engines. The two were honored with the Greenwich Lions Club Dr. John Clarke Award in 2014, which is Greenwich’s equivalent of a Police Officer of the Year award.

After his accident, DiPietro received an outpouring of support from individuals and groups like the Greenwich Silver Shield Association. The group announced a number of fundraising efforts to help with the cost of the injured officer’s surmounting expenses.

He underwent his potentially life-altering surgery on November 5 of last year, at the recommendation of his team of world-renowned doctors. The successful procedure was followed by months of rehabilitation and recovery.

Now in a club of only a half-dozen Connecticut officers, the department can celebrate the return of a valued police family member. This sentiment was echoed at the end of Grey’s email, where he proclaimed on behalf of the entire department “welcome back Frank; we missed you!”