Friends pay tribute to Carmen DeGregorio

Viewing is Weds night and Funeral is Thursday at Christy Funeral Home.
I thought the best way to honor Carmen is to let the people who knew him best.
This is from the Daily Journal. May he rest in peace.

Friends pay tribute to Carmen DeGregorio

He was a great man. We just want to keep their family in our prayers.

They are the best family and they were always happy and cheerful. We just want everyone to remember him as a hero that saved a girl's life and a guy who is looking down at us and seeing everything we do and how much everyone misses him and cares about him so much.

We will never forget all he has done for Millville, and he was just a great guy who always had a smile on his face and made you smile.

-- Erin N. Chard and Courtney N. Chance

When Carmen came to the Millville Police Department I had already been an officer for 13 years. You could tell that he wanted to be the best police officer that ever served the city of Millville, as did the rest of the officers.

It takes a great person to do what Carmen did. I don't think the people in the city of Millville will ever forget that he put his life on the line to help someone he didn't even know, but you had to know him to understand the reasons why he did it.

Rest in peace friend, we will all miss you.

-- Herbert Williams, retired Millville Police officer

I was one of the original nine Millville police walking patrolmen, beginning my career with the Millville Police Department in 1973, and staying until I left to join the FBI in 1984.

I first met Carmen while walking my post on North High Street, just before Christmas 1973. As I recall, Carmen's dad operated a gas station near the old Wheaton Plaza, and Carmen worked for him there. Carmen and I would talk about police work (even though I had less than two weeks "experience" at the time) and talk about how much he wanted to be a cop. As I continued my career with Millville police, I saw Carmen become a member of the Millville Police Reserve, and become employed as a dispatcher with Millville police where we worked together for a number of years.

Just before I left Millville for the FBI, Carmen realized his dream of becoming a full-time Millville police officer. I lost touch with Carmen after I left Millville, but on reading the news of the vicious attack on him as he tried to save another person's life, I realized that his actions did not surprise me in the least. Carmen was a "sheepdog" -- one of those individuals who were born to protect others from the wolves, and he did so with pride and honor.

One of the funny anecdotes I remember about Carmen was during his service as a police dispatcher. He bought a big, old car that looked very much like a much-used old police car, and he took a lot of kidding about that car. Looking back, I see that that car was just one more way he was showing that he was always a good cop, and always will be.

Rest in Peace, Brother! You did your duty, and you did it well.

-- Walt Clemens, former Millville Police Sergeant and former FBI Special Agent

MILLVILLE -- Black bunting draped the outside of the Millville Police Department entrance Friday while officers inside dealt with the loss of one of their own.

Carmen DeGregorio, a retired city police officer, died Thursday afternoon, a little more than 36 hours after he was run down in a gas station parking lot after intervening in a domestic dispute.

"Everybody is holding up as best as can be expected under the circumstances," police Capt. Ed Grennon said Friday afternoon.

Counseling teams have been made available for all of the department's 83 officers, including those who were working at the time of the incident, according to Grennon.

The Police Department is setting up a memorial fund, but the details weren't complete Friday afternoon, Grennon said.

Christy Funeral Home is handling the arrangements for DeGregorio, 51. The arrangements are expected to be set today.

Elsewhere in Millville, there were other signs of the lasting mark DeGregorio made on the city in his 25 years on the force.

At 2nd and High streets, a city message board proclaimed: "Carmen we know you will be spending Christmas in heaven this year."

Flags outside City Hall and around the city flew at half-staff Friday.

Mayor James Quinn said DeGregorio's family, friends and co-workers were still struggling Friday to come to grips with his death.

"It's very somber, to say the least," Quinn said. "There's just been a lot of reminiscing about what a great guy Carmen was and how he really and truly cared about people.

"It's mind-boggling," Quinn said. "There's no rhyme or reason for something like this to have happened."

Anthony Wieners, president of the New Jersey State Policemen's Benevolent Association said Friday in a written statement: "Carmen was a cop's cop, laying his life on the line to save a woman. Although retired from active duty, Carmen never retired from the instinct to help others."

DeGregorio intervened when he saw Robinson trying to shove the woman into the trunk of his car, authorities said. After freeing the victim, DeGregorio pushed her toward a nearby Wawa convenience store and then ran toward the store's gasoline pumps.

DeGregorio retired in 2004 and was married with school-age children. He had survived a heart attack while still a police officer.

"The entire police department is extremely proud of Officer DeGregorio and we consider him to be a hero in every sense of the word," Grennon said.

Post a Comment View All Comments Survivor Wow Carmen met and knew a lot of people. From local police, prosecutors officers, state police, corrections officers, to a FBI agent. I never knew that this man was well known and liked. He was a reserve police officer, police dispatcher, and then a police officer. I hope that full and part time officer's alike can remember that it dosent matter if your on or off duty, you are still observed by the public eye and your actions will be known. Carmen never told me he was a Part Time Officer before. I just learned the other day that Carmen used to do undercover work, and apparentley was good at it. Carmen was old fashioned in my oppinion, he never appeared to care much for the newest fad's and did what he wanted no matter what others would say. He and a few of the older Officers I met that retired, were apart of a time that was fading and changed when things slowley started becoming a Politally Corect Society. He reminded me of the AMC movies where if you crossed the line, he would put you in your place. Old fashioned indeed. He said what was on his mind, and didn't care who would disagree with his comments. I recall him one time while he was on duty, going off about Politics, and stated that he couldn't wait to retire. I asked him what would he do, and told him that I thought he was one of those guys who would miss his job. He looked at me and stated that he did his time, and that if people had a problem with what he said then the heck with them. Well that was of course a different word "Heck". I know that he like many others that worked in the public eye, put up with a lot of $hit, and that times were changing and what was once ok to do or say was slowley becoming a thing of the past. Carmen will be like an American Classic, someone that will go down in history as a MANS-MAN who told it like it is and stood his ground even when others tried to go up against him. I lost my father when I was young, and he too was in Law Enforcement all his life. But what I didn't understand was, why did people talk so highley of him at the funeral, but never once did this to his face or in front of my family? I under stand about respect for the family, but it just seems that we all go through life as someone who did a job. Why can't we say nice things about each other while we are still alive? Carmen you could have just went into that Wawa on that cold night, but instead you got involved in something that would become your last good deed. I sit here and think about how many people are considered a good person once they are gone. Were they considered this before they past away, or is it just one of those things where once your gone, all of the sudden people have good stuff to say about you. I knew Carmen and yes he was a good guy, he was the JOHN WAYNE of his time's, just like most of the Police Officers that walked the beat . I never heard many people say much about him once he retired, and yet now he went from a cop who moved on to a Hero that on one cold dark night, got involved in a Domestic that he didn't have to get involved in. Most people now a days would see something like this happen and would look the other way, due to fear of retaliation or say its not worth any problems. It takes a true man to do the right thing, even if it might cost him his life. I don't truley think that Carmen knew he would be taken away before his time was up. I just wounder why no one else got involved and tried to help. It truly upset me when I heard of a Heroic act performed by a man who just wanted to go on in life and get away from A$$ whole criminals, but in turn would sacrifice and give the ultimate price for someone else's freedom. He unselfishly gave his life to help a person in a bad position who most likely would have her self been killed later on that night if no one got involved. I think that in a moment of desperation, she called out to the heavens and made a plea for help, whether she deserved it or not, is not up to me to decide or judge, only the MAN above can make that decision. God must have had other plans for her somewhere down the road, and I believe that is when he picked CARMEN of all people to do an act of kindness. I think that Carmen was put in this place at this time for a reason, even though its not fair or right in our eyes. He picked Carmen, in my opinion only, because he was the last of a dying breed of people who do what had to be done, and most likely the only candidate at this time who could have saved her. Carmen pulled up and saw what was happening and did what was expected of him to do. Carmen not once questioned GOD, he did it just the ultimate act and got involved. Only Carmen and the MAN up stairs can answer the question "WHY" ??? I hope that his wife and children know that he wasn't just another person, he was put on earth for a reason, he did what GOD put him here to do and that was to SERVE and PROTECT. Carmen, I'm sure, will be looking down on his family and they will be taken care of. No good deed goes unnoticed. Carmen, I salute you SIR. P.S. Say a good word for me to the big guy. Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2007 6:04 pm Singer4God To Adrienne and all of the DeGregorios...please know that our prayers and thoughts are with you...we will lift you up during this difficult and very sad time. Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2007 3:46 pm sjquadrider Having known Carmem really showed me the that there are still good hearted people in this world..He was a true gentlemen around the clock.He will be greatly missed,but set the bar very high for the meaning of a hero..He wasnt on the clock doing his duty,he just did what came natural to him..Righting a wrong..Thats a hero to me.. SJM Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2007 3:22 pm camerosity57 Carmen was a really nice guy, a trully good man, better than most. It's really sad that someone could kill a man during the holiday season for asolutely no reason. I hope his family somehow gets through this nightmare. Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2007 1:06 pm BigGuns4 The way Carmen DeGregorio lived his life made his friends and family proud. The way his life ended should make our entire city proud that he was one of our finest. He raised the word hero to a whole new level. The way he lost his life should change each and every one of us. How can any of us, with a clear conscience, look the other way when witnessing an injustice now? I know I won't be able to. Let's make sure that his courageous act changes more than one girls life. Let it change all of us in the City of Millville. We need to stop looking the other way. We need to start taking action against the POS that have come into our town with NO respect for our way of life. We need to make this more than a good good man being run down by a low-life piece of crap. We need this to open our eyes and we need to refuse to turn our town over to the rats that left Camden ,Baltimore and other ghettos and settled here. God Bless Carmen DeGregorio and may God comfort his family and friends during this extremely difficult time. Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2007 9:51 am Post a Comment View All Comments

Originally published December 1, 2007

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