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Vandalized fallen officer memorial repaired by good neighbor

Posted at 11:20 PM, May 24, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-24 23:20:40-04

The memorial for fallen Officer Pat Parete on Whitney Place in Buffalo was repaired on Thursday following the vandalism that occurred last week

"Everybody in the Police Dept., we have a close bond," BPD Captain Amber Beyer said, "We're all part of a family so this upset them."

Officer Parete died in 2013 after sustaining injuries in 2006 when she was shot responding to a fight at a convenience store. Those injuries left her paralyzed from the neck down. The park on Whitney was opened in her memory. 

"It just reminds myself and other officers what a risk it is coming to work" Captain Beyer said. 

This vandalism was not the first time, as Captain Beyer said this is rather common. It forced BPD to search for a better solution which led them to Jamie Wilson, a City of Tonawanda native. 

"I just thought it wasn't right and wanted to do something about it" Wilson said. 

Wilson, a fulltime truck driver and part-time handy man, constructed a new, less destroyable version the memorial for Officer Parete. 

"It's the least I could really do." Wilson said, "They (police officers) are out there protecting Buffalo and the rest of Buffalo N.Y." 

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