Wreath Honoring Fallen Officer To Be Escorted Through Newtown

NEWTOWN BOROUGH, PA — A wreath memorializing fallen Newtown Borough Police Officer Brian Gregg will be escorted through town on Saturday, Dec. 7 around 1 p.m. by the Fallen Heroes Wreath Program.

"Do not be alarmed with the increased police presence and sirens," the Newtown Borough Police Department posted on Crimewatch.

The Fallen Heroes Wreath Program honors the sacrifices made by Law Enforcement Officers who were killed in the line of duty. The Bucks County-based organization produces and places wreaths at the final resting places of fallen officers during the winter holiday season.

The Fallen Heroes Program was started by the family of slain Philadelphia Police Officer John Pawlowski who was killed in the line of duty in 2009. Hundreds of volunteers across 20 states, as far as Alaska will undertake the task of placing a wreath at the final resting places of more than 2,000 fallen officers this holiday season.

Officer Gregg had just started as a full-time officer when he was shot and killed on Sept. 29, 2005 in the emergency department at the St. Mary Medical Center.

Gregg was born in Bristol and grew up in Levittown. He was a graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School (Harry S Truman High School), the Bucks County Community College, Ferris State University and the Middlesex Fire Academy.

For 15 years, Gregg worked as a contractor and owned his own business in the area. He then pursued his ambition of becoming a police officer graduating from the Temple University Police Academy in 2002. Gregg was hired as a part-time officer with Newtown Borough in 2003. A year later he was promoted to full-time.

“Brian truly loved his community and he was proud to serve the town of Newtown,” reads his obituary. “He never hesitated to answer the call to duty or to help others.”

In April 2014 a section of the Newtown Bypass between South State Street and Durham Road was renamed the Officer Gregg Memorial Bypass. The borough also dedicated a park in his memory on North Congress Street.