POUGHKEEPSIE – On February 18, 2011, Poughkeepsie Police Officer John Falcone and several of his colleagues responded to reports of shots fired in the vicinity of 56 Main Street, near the Poughkeepsie train station. Within five minutes of the calls being received, Officer Falcone had been fatally shot during a struggle with Lee Welch.
Police Captain Rich Wilson said the Falcone tragedy was a wakeup call for everyone in law enforcement. “It’s too easy to come in day by day and get a little complacent with the regularities of patrol day in and day out,” he said. “When things become routine and we are not on top of our game and I think that day was an unfortunate wakeup call for the department as a whole.”
Welch, the estranged husband, had already fatally shot his wife Jessica in their vehicle while their daughter was with her.
Falcone and other officers had pursued the suspect on foot. When Falcone was wrestling with Welch, a weapon discharged, mortally wounding the veteran police officer. Falcone was posthumously promoted to the rank of detective.
Every year, on the anniversary of the line-of-duty death, police from multiple agencies along with fire and EMS personnel join Detective Falcone’s father and family members for a wreath-laying ceremony and a prayer.
The somber ceremony does not include any speeches from elected officials or law enforcement. The ceremony started with a prayer given by a local priest, Mr. Falcone placed a wreath at the memorial stone on the spot where Falcone made the ultimate sacrifice and then City of Poughkeepsie PBA President Kevin Van Wagner thanked everyone for attending.
