Sign Honoring Slain Cop Stephen Liczbinski Erected in NE Philadelphia
By Paul Kurtz
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A fallen Philadelphia police officer is being memorialized along a stretch of Cottman Avenue.
Four and a half years after Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski was gunned down by a trio of armed bank robbers in Port Richmond (see related story), his widow and three children gathered again with former fellow officers and dignitaries, this time for the unveiling of a sign along Cottman Avenue near Algon Avenue.
The "Police Sergeant Stephen Liczbinski Memorial Highway" sign was the brainchild of former Pennsylvania state representative George Kenney, his last piece of legislation before retiring in 2008.
"This was my little way of saying, 'Let's go back to his neighborhood. Let people remember Steve and the sacrifice that law enforcement makes every single day,' " Kenney (standing between Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz and Mayor Nutter in photo) said today.
For Michelle Liczbinski (in white t-shirt in front row), the unveiling gave her a chance to smile.
"I'm so happy that it's finally up, and I know my husband would be very proud and honored to see that sign," she said today. "And my grandkids, when they get older, will be able to see it and enjoy it."
A similar sign is going up on the eastbound side of Cottman Avenue, at Central.
