Indian American police officer's death mourned
By siliconindia   |   Thursday, 28 October 2010, 13:00 IST   |    3 Comments
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New Jersey: John Abraham, 37, a veteran Indian American police officer in Teaneck, N.J., who died in a police car crash to a utility pole on early duty hours, was mourned by colleagues and friends, reports Desi Talk. Abraham, who was born in India and brought up in Teaneck, has served for 17 years on the force and leaves behind wife Martha and five-year old autistic son Jake. Abraham answered an emergency call around 7 p.m. the night before his death from a local restaurant where performed the Heimlich maneuver and CPR on a man who was choking at the restaurant. Abraham died at 2:40 a.m. at Holy Name Hospital after being brought by officers who reached the accident spot within minutes of getting a 911 call from a passing vehicle who saw the crashed police car. Deputy Mayor Adam Gussen, Abraham's classmate since middle school, told that the loss is being felt by everyone in the community. The police statement spoke of Abraham as a 'highly decorated officer' and said a fund was being established to help his family. "'The department is taking it very hard. He was very well liked. And he was the vice president of the Teaneck Police Benevolent Association. That's an elected position," says Teaneck Police Chief Robert Wilson. He also added that Abraham and his colleague, Officer David Alcott, got the Distinguished Service Award for capturing a robbery suspect in 2009 and during his service, he was promoted to detective, but his heart was on the streets of the city. Abraham's close friend and president of the Police Benevolent Association, Gerry Rossano recalled how Abraham joked about why so many people around town knew him. As quoted by northjersey.com, Rossano says "He'd say, A, I'm an Indian, and B, I'm probably the world's only fat Indian cop."

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