Crime & Safety
Fair Lawn Remembers Officer Mary Ann Collura
The Annual Officer Mary Ann Collura Memorial Service will be held Tuesday at 4 p.m. outside borough hall
Fair Lawn remembers the nine-year anniversary of the tragic death of police officer Mary Ann Collura Tuesday with its .
Collura, an 18-year veteran and its first female officer, was killed in the line of duty on April 17, 2003 following a vehicle pursuit that started in Clifton and ended on the lawn of the on River Road.
On the scene to assist Clifton Police, Collura was shot four times by a fleeing suspect, who also shot and wounded a Clifton officer before stealing Collura's patrol car.
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Three days later, the suspect who shot both Collura and Clifton Officer Steven Farrell, was killed by police in Florida during a shootout.
A lifelong Fair Lawn resident and , Collura worked as a firearms officers and armorer as well as a delegate to the New Jersey Policemen's Benevolent Association. She received the Hackensack University Medical Center EMS Excellence Award for saving a life with a defibrillator, in addition to a numerous commendation letters from the community for her "prompt, courteous, and thoughtful service," according to the police department's webpage in her memory.
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Tuesday's service, which members of the public are encouraged to attend to honor Collura's memory and sacrifice, will be held at 4 p.m. outside of borough hall at the Mary Ann Collura Memorial Statue, a life-size bronze statue of Collura that was unveiled in 2006.
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