Blue Lights, Candles Remember 29 Fallen Montco Law Enforcement

HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, PA —The candles lit at the podium of the Horsham Fire Company, Battalion 2, Tuesday night served as a solemn reminder of those who gave their lives in the line of duty and the law enforcement who protect the citizenry each and every day.

"We remember and celebrate our fallen heroes and light a candle and say their names and lay a wreath," said Horsham Township Council President Mark McCouch.

More than 50 people, along with law enforcement throughout Montgomery County, attended the 24th annual "Project Blue Light" ceremony Tuesday night at the Horsham Township Municipal Complex.

Among the speakers were: Horsham Township Police Chief Scott Fida, McCouch and Horsham Township Manager William Gildea-Walker, Montgomery County Commissioner Joseph Gale, outgoing State Rep. Todd Stephens, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele and Upper Dublin Police Chief Francis Wheatley, who is also president of the Police Chiefs Association of Montgomery County.

During the ceremony, a tree was lit directly across from the Horsham Township Municipal Complex in Deep Meadow Park. At the podium, candles were lit during a roll call of the 29 names of fallen law enforcement dating back to the early 1900s.

Gale paid tribute to the men and women who serve in law enforcement every day.

"Most of us go to sleep at night soundly. We take it for granted," Gale said, stating that Montgomery County has 51 police departments serving its 62 municipalities. "Most of these men and women actively go into danger. We owe them all the respect in the world. Their bravery is something that's priceless."

Walker noted that two police officers had been added to the roll call in the past 12 years in Montgomery County.

"Evil is trying harder than ever to creep into our communities," he said.

Wheatley said Montgomery County is fortunate that the list of names hasn't grown with the release of "more dangerous individuals into the community" and laws that have allowed criminals access to weapons.

"We must ask our legislators to protect victims' rights and pass laws on gun violence," he said. "We must keep violent predators off our streets."

The Colibraro family, who operate Colibraro Landscaping & Nursery, was honored at the ceremony as family members headed outside across Horsham Road to light the tree. The township paid its respects to longtime community advocate Anthony Colibraro, who recently passed away.

"Tony was heavily involved in the local community," Fida said. "Tony truly had a heart of gold. He leaves behind an eternal legacy of kindness and compassion."

Project Blue Light is a nationwide observance begun more than 30 years ago by Dolly Craig of Philadelphia.

In 1988, Craig placed two blue candle lights in the window of her home: one in honor of her son-in-law, Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Gleason, killed in the line of duty in 1986; and one for her daughter Pam, Gleason’s wife, who died in an auto crash in 1988. The couple had six children.

Craig wrote of her simple gesture to Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.), an organization dedicated to families of fallen officers, which helped the idea take hold nationally.

The names of Montgomery County's fallen law enforcement were read in a roll call of officers and the lighting of candles by Horsham Township police officers K. John Potts, Ben Simpson, and Bonita Rodriguez.

The officers lost in the line of duty are:

• Constable Daniel J. O'Brien —Abington Township Police, Aug. 8, 1904
• Officer Eugene J. Lucas —Conshohocken Borough Police, Aug. 13, 1917
• Officer Francis X. Roy —Lower Merion Township Police, Sept. 15, 1924
• Sgt. John M. Thomas —Pennsylvania State Highway Patrol, May 8, 1927
• Officer Elwyn A. Fletcher —Lower Merion Township Police, June 9, 1927
• Patrolman Andrew W. Miller —Pennsylvania State Highway Patrol, April 1, 1928
• Chief Warren M. Kramer —Hatboro Borough Police, Oct. 6, 1935
• Officer Edgar L. Peterson —Cheltenham Township Police, March 3, 1946
• Officer Thomas J. Matthews —Abington Township Police, June 29, 1949
• Officer John J. Plunkett —Jenkintown Borough Police, March 9, 1957
• Chief Robert E. Reilly —Norristown Borough Police, Sept. 9, 1959
• Trooper Francis M. Tessitore —Pennsylvania State Police, Aug. 5, 1960
• Chief John J. Culp —Lower Providence Township Police, Dec. 25, 1963
• Officer Thomas W. Corum —Pottstown Borough Police, Jan. 20, 1964
• Sergeant Francis J. Fanning —Lower Merion Township Police, July 6, 1966
• Officer Michael J. Saulin —Upper Merion Township Police, March 4, 1975
• Officer David J. Hancock —Montgomery Township Police, Dec. 11, 1976
• Officer Raymond Moscardelli —Ambler Borough Police, Jan. 20, 1977
• Sergeant A. Wesley Faust —New Hanover Township Police, May 22, 1977
• Corporal Leo M. Koscelnick —Pennsylvania State Police, Aug. 15, 1977
• Trooper Stanley E. Wesloski —Pennsylvania State Police, May 26, 1986
• Sergeant George F. Opelski —West Norriton Township Police, Sept. 13, 1986
• Officer Edward M. Setzer —Lower Merion Township Police, Sept. 20, 1988
• Officer Thomas M. Barone —Norristown Borough Police, Oct. 11, 1992
• Special Agent Charles L. Reed —F.B.I. Lansdale Office, March 22, 1986
• Officer Richard V. Lawn Jr. —Lower Gwynedd Township Police, July 28, 2003
• Sergeant James R. Miller —Upper Dublin Township Police, April 20, 2004
• Officer Bradley M. Fox —Plymouth Township Police, Sept. 13, 2012
• Trooper David Kedra —Pennsylvania State Police, Sept. 30, 2014