Offshoreonly.com - Troutly and all other police officers

My brother's bud, Anthony DiMartino, was the guy mentioned who witnessed from his living room and jumped out, ran this guy down in his socks, tackled the @#$@!$! and held him till back-up showed. Happened right before Thanksgiving last month. Thanks to you guys who put it on the line daily!

A city police officer was killed Friday when his motorcycle was broadsided by a fleeing suspect driving with a suspended license - the first line of duty death in the department's 83-year history.

John Samra, 41, was pronounced dead at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson less than an hour after calling in a motor vehicle stop at the intersection of Union Avenue and Third Street.

He was writing a traffic ticket when Luis Hernandez fled the scene and allegedly ran a stop sign a few blocks away at Washington Street and Maple Place, crashing into Samra.

Hernandez, a 39-year-old Passaic resident, was charged with vehicular homicide, driving with a suspended license, eluding, leaving the scene of a fatal accident and aggravated assault, said Passaic County Senior Assistant Prosecutor James Wilson. Bail was set at $1 million, $200,000 of which must be posted in cash.

Two witnesses, one came out of his home in stocking feet, apprehended Hernandez, who ran from the wreckage, leaving the officer bleeding in the street, authorities said. Meanwhile, numerous patrol cars were dispatched to the scene.

"That kind of information is like lightning striking the Police Department," said Lt. John Storms who spoke with Samra earlier in the morning, never imagining it would be a last conversation. "Everybody talks about it, but it's a whole other thing when it's one of your own. It's the reality of the job."

Authorities are unsure why Samra had stopped Hernandez at 10:02 a.m., although the county is in the midst of a Click It or Ticket blitz to promote seatbelt safety, said Lt. Les Goldstein.

Samra, who began his shift at 7:30 a.m., pulled over Hernandez, who was driving the 1994 Plymouth Voyager van of his girlfriend, Alicia Alvardo. Police said Hernandez took off, heading east on Union Avenue and turning north on Maple Place. Samra, apparently hoping to cut off the fleeing driver, took an alternate route and headed east on Washington Street.

"The van ran the stop sign and hit him. The cop goes flying off his bike and the van spun around," said Mike Rabel, 17, who witnessed the crash. Rabel, a Clifton High School senior, was on his the way to the White Castle restaurant at Piaget and Main avenues.

Rabel dialed 911, went to check on Samra but jumped back in his car when Hernandez allegedly ran from the scene, he said.

Anthony DiMartino was inside his Maple Place house logging on to his computer when the sound of a roaring motorcycle made him look out the window.

Then, he said, a gray minivan ran the stop sign.

DiMartino ran outside and chased Hernandez while Rabel pulled his car onto a sidewalk blocking the escape route, authorities said. They tackled Hernandez a few houses away and dragged him back to the accident to wait for police.

"He said he didn't kill anybody," DiMartino said. "I brought him back and showed him what he did."

Investigators cordoned off the typically quiet street between Maple Place and Third Street in the city's downtown district, measuring skid marks and surveying the wreckage. A swarm of officers responded, including accident investigators from Samra's division. Few words were said.

"I was on the verge of tears numerous times on that scene. I had to stop a couple of times and take a deep breath to get the job done," said Capt. Gary Giardina."We're human. It's one of our own laying there."

Just three days earlier, Samra strolled into Neil's Pizza while Detectives Edgar Rodriguez and John Stianche ate lunch.

He sat down with them and was in extremely good spirits, chatting about plans to move in with his girlfriend. The 15-year veteran, who worked the past five years as an accident investigator in the traffic division, was divorced and had no children.

At headquarters, some 150 officers pulled black mourning straps from desk drawers and solemnly placed them over their badges.

Others draped bunting across City Hall, remembering a "brother" who ran marathons with kids in the Special Olympics, spent six years in the U.S. Air Force and "served the department with dedication and distinction."

"He'd be in Bagels Abroad and say hi to my kids, pat my little son Tyler on the head - always had a smile on his face," said Sgt. William Gibson. "He was a tremendous officer - an out and out asset to the department."