Members of the New Haven Police Department march in East Haven Wednesday to the funeral for Police Officer Daniel P. Picagli. Peter Casolino/Register photoHe said he wasn’t surprised by the turnout, both from law enforcement and the community, to honor Picagli, the 38-year-old father of four and husband of 18 years, who died Saturday from injuries suffered on traffic duty earlier in the week.
"I really think it speaks to the kind of life Dan lived. He didn’t just breathe. He went out and made a difference. He didn’t just collect a paycheck. He went out and connected with people. He didn’t just work a 7-to-3 shift. Dan was there for the community at all hours," DeStefano said.
It was a wind-whipped morning when the hearse pulled up to the church for the emotionally draining but uplifting ceremony. Aerial fire trucks unfurled a huge American flag over Route 80 that police and firefighters marched under en route to the church. Police color guards flanked the entrance.
DeStefano and Picagli’s son, Dan, among others, delivered eulogies.
"It’s tough. I remember the day we buried one of our own," said Detective Karl Jacobson, who came from East Providence, R.I., to pay respects. East Providence Capt. Alister McGregor was accidentally shot during a SWAT training exercise in 2001. New Haven police officers attended the funeral.
"I know New Haven was down for us. It’s important to come to these types of things," Jacobson said.
It’s been 36 years since a New Haven officer was killed on the job. While many officers have attended funerals for those in other departments, burying one of their own is uncharted territory. Only two members of the force, Sgt. Louis Cavaliere, the union president, and Lt. Billy White, head of the narcotics unit, were on the job when Patrol Officer Frank T. Hawley, 31, was shot to death while working undercover in the Hill in 1970.
Picagli was injured Oct. 17 when he was struck by a sport utility vehicle while directing traffic on Chapel Street in Wooster Square. He suffered severe head injuries and died four days later. The SUV was driven by Senior Judge John M. Walker Jr., 65, who sits on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. No charges have been filed.
About 300 city officers were among a contingent of more than 1,000 police officers who came to the funeral.
Among the 40 from Stamford were the department’s 19 police recruits.
Stamford Lt. Brian McElligott said it’s important to teach them the respect and decorum that go with the profession.
"We want them to understand the importance of what we do and some of the hazards of what we do," he said.
Gege Torello has no connection to law enforcement but walked from her house to see the procession, even though she had never met Picagli.
"I felt for someone to receive this kind of honor and to go with this type of dignity, I felt like I knew him," she said. "I told my husband I just wanted to salute him as he drove by me and I did."
Her friend, Holly Antosh, knew the officer from "the pit," the local name for the East Haven Little League fields, where Picagli coached and her son played.
When she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, she sat on a guardrail at the pit and spoke to Picagli for hours about it, she said. Kids walked by and called him Officer Dan.
"The little kids loved this man; they cherished him. It’s just unbelievable," Antosh said.
Picagli, who organized youth programs for the New Haven Police Department, had an uncanny rapport with young people, according to his colleagues and city teens whom he befriended and mentored.
He oversaw the Board of Young Adult Police Commissioners for the department; the Police Athletic League, which runs youth sports camps; and worked closely with Camp DEFY, a drug-education program in which city officers and at-risk kids spend a week together on a camping trip.
"Every officer hopes that throughout their career, before it’s over and they retire, that they can affect the life of one child," said New Haven Police Chief Francisco Ortiz Jr. "This officer touched the life of thousands of children in New Haven.
"I would tell you that today was unnecessary," Ortiz said. "We don’t have to be here. This didn’t have to happen."
Later, at the North Haven cemetery, city cops, one-by-one, placed red roses on Picagli’s casket. Some shed their white dress gloves and laid them on as well.
It was a moment they hoped they would never have to repeat.
"I hope this is the last one of these (a police funeral) I have to attend," said a somber New Haven Sgt. Bernie Somers. "I said that the last time, too."
İNew Haven Register 2006
William Kaempffer can be reached at wkaempffer@nhregister.com or 789-5727.