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Posted by: Andy0921

(New Haven-WTNH, Oct. 17, 2006 11:00 PM) _ A veteran of the New Haven police force is fighting for his life after being hit by a vehicle while on traffic detail.
The officer injured in the accident is known around town simply as Officer Dan. Dan Pacagli is at Yale New Haven Hospital and listed in critical condition.
It was a dark road in the middle of a downpour when the accident occurred at 6:30 p.m. We don't know if there were caution signs or what kind of reflective vest the officer was wearing, but he was hit by a car. suffered severe head injuries and is now fighting for his life at Yale New Haven Hospital.
"He is in extremely critical condition. This is very much a difficult time for his family and this department and this community as well," says Chief Francisco Ortiz.
New Haven police have been coming by Yale New Haven Hospital all night to offer support and console each other after one of their own, Officer Dan Pacagli, was struck by a vehicle on Chapel Street near Wooster Square.
Two officers were working extra duty at the construction project where they are milling a road.
The two were directing traffic when a small black SUV slammed right into Officer Pacagli.
"The motorist that was involved in this is cooperating with the authorities. We have ordered the major reconstruction team to come in and look at this particular event today to try and piece together what happened here today," says Ortiz.
But for now police are simply trying to cope.
"Mayor DeStefano was here earlier, met with Dan's wife and the family and certainly we'll do whatever we can to help them through this very difficult time," says John Buturla, Chief of Staff for Mayor DeStefano.
Pacagli is known throughout the city for going the extra mile for kids. He was one of the first School Resource Officers when the program began 10-years ago.
He also directs the Police Athletic League and was active with the Young Adults Board of Police Commissioners.
"He is exemplary in every possible way and he has taken care of our children in New Haven. He has been the face of community policing, he has been the face of our department," says Ortiz.
Officer Pacagli is in his early 40's, he has two sons and one daughter. He is an 18-year veteran of the force. Police are asking the community to pray for his recovery. No word yet on whether the driver will face any charges.

My thoughts and prayers are with you, your family and NHPD

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Posted by: MM1799

I wish you a speedy recovery Officer Pacagli.

To the Citizens: "Road Construction Ahead" means slow the hell down and keep your eyes open.

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Posted by: kwflatbed

Connecticut Judge Hits Officer Directing Traffic

KIM MARTINEAU
Hartford Courant



Officer Dan Picagli was a community police officer before that job had a name. He played floor hockey and flag football with the kids and gathered up toys to give away at Christmas. He even learned Spanish so he could talk to parents in the mostly Hispanic neighborhood where he worked.
``He's a young, compassionate officer who connects to kids almost like a magnet,'' said Police Chief Francisco Ortiz. ``He's their role model. He's their hero.''
The popular officer was on an outside job, directing traffic on a wet and dismal Tuesday night, when he was struck by an SUV. A federal judge who is a cousin of former President George H.W. Bush was behind the wheel. Two days after the crash, the 38-year-old officer is fighting for his life and his family and coworkers continue to rally by his bedside at Yale-New Haven Hospital. A few blocks from the intensive-care unit where Picagli is being treated for a severe head injury, John M. Walker Jr., a 65-year-old judge, met with investigators at police headquarters to go through a second round of questioning -- this time with his lawyer.
The judge was on his way home to Madison in a black Ford Escape when his vehicle struck Picagli while the off-duty cop was directing traffic around a construction site on Wooster Square Park. Chapel Street had been closed to one lane of traffic and as Walker passed through, headed east, at least one driver waiting to go the other way witnessed the crash, police said.
The street was dark but the officer was wearing a fluorescent yellow vest over a long rain coat. Picagli was working for AT & T, which is relocating utility lines to clear the way for the reconstruction of the I-95 bridge over the Quinnipiac River.
``He was clearly seen by other motorists at the time of the accident,'' Mayor John DeStefano Jr. said Thursday.
Police have ruled out drugs and alcohol as a cause of the crash, but said they will look at other factors, including speed, in their investigation. The posted speed limit in the area is 25 mph. The judge did not show signs of impairment and therefore was not tested for drugs or alcohol, said Bonnie Winchester, a police spokeswoman. Police described Walker as distraught and said he has been fully cooperative.
At the end of last month, Walker stepped down as chief judge of the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals and took on senior judge status. He was appointed to the bench by President Reagan and elevated to the appeals court by former President Bush, his cousin. A Yale graduate, like the four generations of Bushes to go through the Ivy League school, Walker now teaches a spring course at Yale Law School. As a judge, he earns $175,000 a year and hears appeals from New York, Connecticut and Vermont.
Sgt. Rick Rodriguez was at home reading the papers on Tuesday when he heard his colleague had been hit. He rushed to the hospital, where he has stayed for most of the past two days. On a mild fall afternoon, he sat glumly on a stone wall outside the hospital entrance and described his colleague's dedication to family and community.
After school, Picagli played flag football, basketball and floor hockey with the kids at Fair Haven Middle School, which he had attended as a boy. He organized toy drives at Christmas and took up Spanish. He still found time to coach baseball in East Haven, where he lives with his wife, three children and a foster child they adopted this summer.
``Policing is not about what you can do with a gun or how you can shoot,'' said Rodriguez. ``Nowadays, it's how you can communicate with the community and how you communicate with the children. The children of New Haven are our future.''
Two days into the vigil, Rodriguez still can't bring himself to look at his friend, normally fit and strong. Tears came to his eyes as he explained why. ``You have this police armor that says, `This is my job, we gotta get through it,' but when it's one of your own it's different,'' he said.
When the news came over the scanner, Sgt. Lisa Dadio knew what to do first: go to Picagli's wife. She drove to the couple's home and, with a heavy heart, knocked on the door.
``Being a cop's wife, it's one of your worst, dreaded fears,'' Dadio said.
Since that moment, she has kept watch over the family nearly around the clock, arranging for meals and talking to reporters. A hospital lounge has been set aside for the hundreds of police officers and prosecutors who have come by to lend support. On Thursday, the family issued a short statement: ``We ask that you continue to pray for Dan's recovery and to keep him in your thoughts and prayers.''

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Posted by: Andy0921

New Haven mourns loss of police officer
New Haven mourns loss of police officer - Story by Jamie Muro

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(New Haven-WTNH, Oct. 21, 2006 10:00 PM) _ A New Haven police officer who had been fighting for life since Tuesday night has lost that battle.
A spokesperson for the New Haven Police confirms to New Channel 8 that Officer Dan Picagli passed away today.
He died from injuries he sustained after being hit by an SUV while on traffic detail.
That accident happened Tuesday night while Officer Picagli was directing traffic on Chapel Street.
Picagli was a 17-year veteran and a popular policeman.
He was part of the youth-oriented police program where he was know as Officer Dan.
During the investigation, it was learned Federal Judge John M. Walker was behind the wheel of the SUV on that rainy night.
Walker was leaving his New Haven office and heading home at the time.
Police say the judge has also been very cooperative during the investigation.
So far, no charges have been filed in the case.
Tonight New Haven Police Chief Francisco Ortiz released a statement says,"We will memorialize his contributions to the community through the police department in the years to come. We ask that the community continue to pray for his family in this difficult time."
The mayor also said Picagli was more than a police officer, he was someone who brought people together.
Funeral arrangements are still being worked out.

Not a good day for Police Officers in Connecticut today, we also lost a Hartford Police officer to a MVA. I posted the article already.

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Posted by: justanotherparatrooper

R I P brother

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Posted by: kwflatbed

Merge

http://www.masscops.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19459

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