Local police and state police filled the parking lot next to Newtown Borough Hall Tuesday morning. As light whipped through the tiny borough, a crowd gathered to pay tribute to fallen police officer Brian S. Gregg.
The crowd was gathered as a portion of the Newtown Bypass was named in memory of Gregg, who was born in Bristol and raised in Levittown.
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Several speakers came to a podium and spoke of Gregg’s dedication to the community and his loss.
Bucks County Commissioner Diane Marseglia said she had coffee with a friend in Newtown just before the ceremony and spoke to her friend about Gregg. “My friend said he was a good man and a good police officer, and that’s the way we should remember him.”
Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick spoke of Gregg’s ultimate sacrifice and read a poem about the risk police officers. The poem was written by his uncle, New York City Police Department Patrolman Phil Fitzpatrick, who was shot to death while responding to a robbery in 1947.
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Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler said Tuesday’s ceremony was a “reminder that there is real evil in the world.” He added, “it’s also a reminder that the men and women who put on police uniforms have taken a pledge that the evil will have to go through them to reach the community.”
State Rep. Frank Ferry, who is also fire chief at the Langhorne-Middletown Fire Company, said this is the second such ceremony for fallen police officers he has been to in Bucks County. “It’s two to many,” he remarked, adding Gregg’s dedication to the community will not soon be forgotten.
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Gregg was just about to hit one year on the small police force when he was killed in the line of duty in 2005
Robert Flor of Falls sits on death row for the murder of the officer, who was shot after Flor took the gun from a fellow Newtown patrolman. Gregg and a hospital employee were shot. A large manhunt ensued after and Flor was found hiding in a car on the hospital grounds. Flor was revealed to have had several run-ins with Falls and Middletown police. Flor was transported to the hospital following his arrest for DUI and punching his girlfriend.
Gregg is survived by his wife and son.
