NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The bridge that connects West Haven and New Haven at Kimberly Avenue will be known as Officer Robert Vincent Fumiatti Memorial Bridge in honor of the New Haven cop who died in 2007 from complications after being shot in 2002.
Police union official Jeffrey Matchett said it's hard to think of a more fitting tribute to Fumiatti since the bridge links his hometown of West Haven with New Haven, which is where he worked.
"I don't think there is any better tribute and nothing more appropriate than the dedication of this bridge in his memory," said Matchett, executive director of AFSCME Council 15 Connecticut Council of Police.
Dozens of people from law enforcement and the New Haven and West Haven communities turned out for the dedication ceremony Thursday. Fumiatti's brother, Michael Fumiatti, said the bridge will be a constant reminder that his brother's memory will live on. See many photos of the event.
"I hope that every time somebody passes over this bridge they look up at the sign, and they smile, and they think of something Robert did or said that brought a little bit of joy to your life," he said. "...I know that's what I'll do every time I pass through here."
Fumiatti's widow, Stacey, his children Madelyn, Vincent and Caitlin, his mother, Marguerite, and others were present at the dedication. Stacey and Vincent Fumiatti hugged each other tight after receiving the sign bridge name sign.
Fumiatti joined the Police Department in 1998. He was a member of the Street Interdiction Team that was targeting drug dealers in the city. He survived the gunshot wound and through a combination of intense rehabilitation and indomitable willpower, rejoined the force as a narcotics dog handler. He died in 2007 from a heart condition.
Michael Fumiatti and others advocated federally that his brother's death be considered to have been in the line of duty.
Michael Fumiatti also advocated for years that his brother's name be added to the National Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. An autopsy had concluded that he had died of natural causes unrelated to the shooting, making him ineligible to have his name on the memorial.
But the U.S. Department of Justice reversed its decision in 2010 when new medical findings were presented, which also allowed his family to receive death benefits.
The city treated his death as being in the line of duty. Arnold Bell was found guilty of shooting Fumiatti and is serving concurrent state and federal sentences of 47 years.
The bridge dedication was in part work of members of the New Haven and West Haven delegations at the state legislature, said state Rep. Stephen Dargan, D-West Haven. Council 15 had approached him and others with the idea.
Dargan said he had known Fumiatti since he approached the city council as a high school student who asked that more money be given to the Board of Education. At the time, Dargan was on the council.
"I know the love that he has not only for West Haven wearing the hockey blue, but wearing that New Haven blue and how proud he was to follow his father (Vincent) into the law enforcement community," Dargan said.
Police Chief Dean Esserman said that every new recruit is told they wear two names on their uniform; their family name and the New Haven name.
"You must spend a life honoring both those names," he said. "Officer Fumiatti did just that."
West Haven Mayor John Picard said he had known Fumiatti for a long time, and that his wife and Fumiatti were good friends.
"You can tell by how many people are here just what he meant to everyone," Picard said.
New Haven Mayor-elect Toni Harp thanked the West Haven and New Haven delegation for getting the dedication done and noted that Fumiatti's dedication to both towns was remarkable.
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Copyright 2013 - New Haven Register, Conn.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
