By David Cruz
Correspondent
They came from across New Jersey and nearby states. Under tight security, lined up out the door and down the street in front of the funeral home, paying their respects to rookie cop Melvin Santiago, a young man who lost his life doing a job he loved, in a city he loved.
“This was a young man who went to school here, grammar school, high school and lived in the city and wanted to better himself and better his city,” said former Mayor Jerramiah Healy. “It’s a horrible loss, and a tragedy, and the whole police department, the city, the state is mourning his loss.”
Healy was just one of the hundreds here today, sharing their thoughts about a tragedy that has galvanized a city and brought attention to the economic and social divide that exists here.
“It has to stop,” said Councilman Richard Boggiano. “Everybody has to start working together to end what’s going on. It’s a shame. As I said, I’ve worked with the police department for 36 years and I’m tired of it.”
Since Sunday’s shooting, many residents have called into question whether their city is as safe as they’ve been led to believe by a mayor whose tough talk in the wake of the tragedy has heightened tensions in the area where it — and a recent flurry of other shootings — took place. Patrick Peterson frequents the convenience store where the shooting took place. He said he no longer feels safe in the city.
“I don’t think so right now, because anything can happen anywhere,” he said. “It can happen anywhere. We don’t know. When we leave our home, we don’t know whether we’ll return back.”
Keith Davis, who works with the city’s employment and training efforts, said he hoped the city would be inspired to come together in the wake of the tragedy.
“All of us need to get together, come together to honor this young man by keeping peace and trying to live our lives better like this young man did,” he said. “He dedicated his life to the city, gave his life to the city.”
Mayor Steve Fulop announced yesterday that the city would make sure that Santiago received an honor commensurate with his sacrifice.
“We’re going to be promoting posthumously Officer Santiago to detective and bestowing on him the highest recognition and honor of the police department. One medal of honor will go into the coffin with him and one will be presented to the family,” he said.
This outpouring of emotion has been going on since before noon and promises to go well into the night, and will culminate tomorrow in a funeral with full honors.