Title...
Proclamation honoring Officer Thomas Rigatti of the Bethel Park Police Department for his 27 years of community service, including his outstanding work for the late Joey Fabus and the Fabus family in 2014.
Body...
WHEREAS, Officer Thomas "Tom" Rigatti joined the Bethel Park Police Department in 1988 and has served in various capacities such as patrol division and the traffic division; since October 2009, Officer Rigatti has served as a Community Resource/Crime Prevention Officer in the Crime Prevention Unit; and
WHEREAS, since 1989, Officer Rigatti has served as a Police Pal to schools in the Bethel Park School District helping to build trust between youth and law enforcement; and
WHEREAS, during his tenure, Officer Rigatti spearheaded the Police Pals Food Drive and developed the Police Pals Holiday Adopt-A-Family program, benefitting needy local families; and
WHEREAS, in 1992, Officer Rigatti, in conjunction with Officer Modrak, created the Bethel Park Police Law Enforcement Apprenticeship Program (L.E.A.P.) providing Bethel Park High School students the opportunity to learn more about a career in law enforcement; and
WHEREAS, since 2009, Officer Rigatti has organized the Police Pals/Pittsburgh Steelers Benefit Basketball game to fund the Sergeant Charles Bonczek Scholarship, which, since its inception, has awarded over $23,000 to college-bound participants of the L.E.A.P. program; and
WHEREAS, in 2010, Officer Rigatti re-established the Bethel Park Citizen Police Academy (C.P.A.) providing basic information about the law enforcement profession and the daily operations of the Bethel Park Police Department to more than 45 citizens per year; and
WHEREAS, in 2011, Officer Rigatti re-established the Bethel Park Crime Watch Program, growing the membership to more than 1,000 individuals; and
WHEREAS, among the numerous grants Officer Rigatti obtained, one in particular helped to establish a new Child Identification system in 2011. Since that time more than 12,000 ID cards have been issued; and
WHEREAS, among his many accomplishments, Officer Rigatti received the American Society of Industrial Security (ASIS), Public Safety and Security Award Honorable Mention in November 2014; and
WHEREAS, in 2014, Officer Rigatti was instrumental in organizing the community's support for the late 8-year-old Josef "Joey" Giovanni Fabus, son of Mr. and Mrs. David and Cindy Fabus, who was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor on May 15, 2014 and passed away from this life on January 21, 2015; and
WHEREAS, after Joey's dream came true and he became an honorary member of the Bethel Park Police Department, Officer Rigatti acted as Joey's partner for the day on June 24, 2014; Officer Rigatti also collected and provided Joey with police patches from across the nation; and
WHEREAS, Officer Rigatti was responsible for rallying the Bethel Park businesses which donated items for Joey's wake; Officer Rigatti organized the effort to gather dozens of police officers, firefighters and emergency workers to pay tribute to Joey at his officer's funeral at St. Bernard Catholic Church in Mt. Lebanon; Officer Rigatti was able to secure two ladder trucks, one from the Bethel Park Fire Department and one from Mt. Lebanon, which raised their ladders and hung a large American flag between them as the funeral procession passed under the flag and into the cemetery; and
WHEREAS, we salute Officer Tom Rigatti for his outstanding dedication and commitment to serving the Fabus family in 2014;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Allegheny County Council hereby recognizes and thanks Bethel Park Police Officer Thomas Rigatti for his dedication to upholding the noble precepts of law enforcement and community policing for 27 years, and we wish him health and happiness in all of his future endeavors.