Essex County Park Police Department, New Jersey
End of Watch: Saturday, August 4, 1979
Age: 29
Tour of Duty: 7 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: August 4, 1979
Weapon Used: Handgun; .38 caliber
Suspect Info: Sentenced to life
Police Officer Joseph Pocchio was shot and killed after he stopped a speeding car.
He spotted the vehicle inside Branch's Brook Park in Newark and conducted a traffic stop. Unbeknownst to Officer Pocchio, the three occupants had just robbed the participants of a craps game at a nearby candy store. As he was talking to the 16-year-old driver in his patrol car, a 34-year-old passenger walked up to his car and shot him.
The three suspects were apprehended in New York City the next day. The gunman was convicted of murder and sentenced to life plus ten years.
Officer Pocchio was a United States Maine Corps Vietnam War veteran and served with the Essex County Park Police Department for seven years. He was survived by his mother and fiancee.