Slain Jersey City Officer, Melvin Santiago, To Be Inducted Into Circle Of Honor
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - Melvin Santiago, 23, had been on the police force for just seven months when he was shot and killed in July while responding to an incident at Jersey City drug store.
"He was starting his career as a cop. Hell, he was starting his life, and it was cut short," Circle of Honor Founder Pat O'Melia told WCBS 880's Monica Miller.
O'Melia said the Jersey City native will be the fifth police officer killed in the line of duty inducted at the 9/11 Memorial Fountain in Journal Square.
"Of course everything starts with the remembrance of 9/11, but the Circle of Honor brings other attention and unfortunately, this year the attention is going to be the young detective Santiago," O'Melia said.
Santiago was posthumously promoted to detective.
In July, hundreds of police officers from across the Tri-State Area mourned the loss of one of their own.
Santiago's casket was carried into St. Aloysius Church in Jersey City draped in an American flag created after 9/11 to pay tribute to heroes who lost their lives in the line of duty, CBS 2's Christine Sloan reported.
As WCBS 880's Monica Miller reported, it was a fitting farewell for someone who grew up dreaming of protecting Jersey City's West District, just like his uncle, retired cop Frank DeFazio.
"The bullet that struck Patrolman Santiago's head also struck my heart," DeFazio said during his eulogy
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