Softball Game Raises $1,800 In Murdered Fair Lawn Officer's Memory

FAIR LAWN, N.J. — An annual softball tournament raised $1,800 for a scholarship fund honoring a former borough police officer who was shot and killed in the line of duty 13 years ago.

Officer Mary Ann Collura, an 18-year veteran of the department, was shot four times while helping apprehend a suspect who had crashed his car on the lawn of the Van Riper Ellis Broadway Baptist Church in April of 2003.

She was the first borough police officer killed in the line of duty. The incident sparked a manhunt spanning several states and created of legacy of service and remembrance in her memory.

The second annual Families Behind the Badge Softball Tournament raised $1,800 for the Police Officer Mary Ann Collura Memorial Scholarship Fund. The game features officers from Bergen, Passaic, and Essex counties.

"Words cannot express our gratitude and thanks to everyone involved to help continue Mary Ann's legacy," said Luis Vasquez, president of the Fair Lawn Policemen's Benevolent Association Local 67.

Photo, from left: Officer Michael Van Ness; Officer Michael Franco; Officer Juan Hinojosa; Officer Robert Manning; Woodland Park Councilwoman Tracey Kellert; Fair Lawn Mayor John Cosgrove; Detective Karen Censullo, Mary Ann Collura Scholarship president; Detective David Boone, retired; Mary Ann Collura Scholarship treasurer; Officer Luis Vasquez, and Woodland Park Councilperson Vincent Decesare. Photo courtesy of Fair Lawn PBA Local 67