MORGANTOWN — Retired Morgantown Police officer Debra Gordey asked the city to name its new pedestrian bridge for former colleague Frank Fidazzo — the only MPD officer ever killed in the line of duty.
Fidazzo was killed June 10, 2000, in a bicycle training accident.
Gordey, a 21-year veteran of the department, said she believes the city largely forgot about Fidazzo, and the new walking bridge connecting the Deckers Creek Trail to Greenmont is a perfect opportunity to remedy that.
“I’m asking city council to name the bridge … after, Frank — PFC Frank Fidazzo,” Gordey said. “You see, Frank’s responsibility was the rail-trail until the day he died, and he loved it. He loved riding the rails-to-trails to make sure they were safe for the citizens of Morgantown.”
Gordey said Fidazzo deserves to be honored much like Gene Vance Jr. — a U.S. Special Forces staff sergeant from Morgantown who was the first American killed on foreign soil in Operation Enduring Freedom.
“Both Frank and Gene died doing what they believed in, serving others,” Gordey said, noting Fidazzo and Vance are buried about 20 feet apart in Oak Grove Cemetery.
Morgantown Communications Director Andrew Stacy the MPD has a plaque honoring Fidazzo outside the front door of the Public Safety Building, and another memorial inside the police station.
Follow The Dominion Post on Twitter @DominionPostWV. Email Ben Conley: bconley@dominionpost.com.
