Westfield suffered a tragic loss last week.
As readers of the Westfield News are aware, Westfield City Police Officer Jose Torres lost his life in a tragic accident while working a traffic detail on Pontoosic Street. In my capacity as the President of the Westfield City Council, and on behalf of all of my City Council colleagues, allow me to express my deepest condolences and sincerest gratitude to the immediate family of Jose Torres, and to his extended law enforcement family, who have also felt the loss of a brother they had known and served with for the past 27 years.
I also wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the tremendous outpouring of support for the Torres family seen from all areas of the city, and from beyond. The sheer volume of mourners and well-wishers was like nothing I’ve ever witnessed here in the city: from the long lines at Firtion-Adams to the overflow funereal service replete with law enforcement officers from throughout the state to the blue lights on so many houses to the deluge of supportive statements in the PulseLine, the support has been broad-based and heartfelt.
But I’m not really that surprised. When you stop to think of all of the people in the city who give their time to our community, whether as employees, public safety officials, teachers, members of boards or commissions, volunteers, coaches, or as members of civic organizations, the number reaches into the thousands. And all of them make a difference, all of them make this city, our city of Westfield, the place we like to live and love to call home. So when we lose one of them, when we lose a man like Jose Torres, who decided to dedicate his life to fighting crime and serving the public, who decided to do so here as a member of our community, it is not surprising in the least that our city stops to recognize his contribution, and our loss.
On a related note, throughout the country eleven police officers were struck and killed by motor vehicles during 2011. While we are closing in to the end of the downtown road construction, the city will soon undertake road construction projects on the Route 187 and the closed Prospect Hill bridge here in Ward One. Sometimes the gap between those working on the roads and those of us behind the wheel seems better measured in inches rather than feet. Please take a moment when driving in construction zones to pay a little extra attention, use a little less speed, and exercise a little more caution.
Christopher Keefe
President, Westfield City Council
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not the staff, editor, or publisher of the Westfield News.
