Heroes Live Forever—Remembering and Honoring Harold L. Vitale

Around 1:30 am on June 18, 1985, Saugus (MA) Police Officer Harold L. Vitale received a radio call to pursue a suspect with outstanding warrants for his arrest. Officer Vitale spotted the vehicle and attempted to make the arrest. It would cost him his life.

The suspect rolled the car window up trapping Officer Vitale’s arm and took off, dragging the 14-year police veteran at speeds up to 40 miles per hour. As the other occupants in the car screamed for the driver to stop, Officer Vitale was rammed into a street sign and killed.

The cold-blooded killer, 18, was apprehended three days later. He had run to a friend’s house where he cowardly hid out under a bed. Thanks to some judicial missteps, the killer was acquitted of first-degree murder. Instead, he was convicted of a much lesser manslaughter charge. The family and the community were devastated at the injustice. Officer Vitale’s killer would serve just 10 years in prison and was released at the age of 29.

Officer Vitale was survived by his wife, Eileen, three children, five brothers, and two sisters. They were a large and close-knit family and they refused to let Harold be forgotten.

In 1989, they were organizers of the East Coast Memorial Run. The run, from Boston to Washington, D.C., covered more than 400 miles and raised a large sum of money to help build the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC. After the Memorial was dedicated in 1991, they turned their attention to building a local memorial in Saugus to honor Harold and the only other Saugus officer known at the time to have died in the line of duty, Augustine “Gus” Belmonte. (Years later, another Saugus officer, Phillip Pitts, was found to have died in the line of duty. He was shot and killed responding to a burglary in 1889.)

I had the privilege of participating at the Officer Harold L. Vitale Memorial Park dedication ceremony in 1992, and will never forget the powerful 13-foot “Artorius” statue that is the centerpiece of the memorial. Designed by renowned artist John Raimondi, “Artorius" stands in honor of Harold, Gus and all officers who valiantly serve and protect their community. The sculpture represents King Arthur of the Renaissance legend, revered for his work as protector of the people.

Over the last three decades, the Officer Harold L. Vitale Memorial Fund (VitaleMemorialFund.org) has provided scholarships to high school students, and donated generously to support the Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.), the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Citizens Behind the Badge and other police officers and deserving organizations in need.

Bobby Vitale, left, presents Craig Floyd with a $2,500 donation to Citizens Behind the Badge.

Much of the funding is raised through an annual golf tournament the family conducts each year. I had the honor of participating and speaking at this year’s tournament—the 29th annual—which was held on August 7 at the Ipswich Country Club. As usual, Harold’s brother, Les, masterfully emceed the dinner and not only honored his brother, but also honored two other deserving heroes. The first was K-9 Frankie, of the Massachusetts State Police, who was shot and killed on July 22, 2022, while attempting to capture an armed suspect. Frankie was the first K-9 killed in the line of duty in Massachusetts state police history.

The second honoree was Saugus Police Officer Frederick Louis Forni, who was shot and critically injured in the same robbery that took the life of Gus Belmonte. While Officer Forni survived the initial shooting in 1969, his injuries eventually caused his death and his name was just recently added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Officer Forni’s son, Fred, and daughter-in-law Stacey, are now serving with the Saugus Police Department and both honored us with their presence.

Also in attendance at the memorial charity dinner were the mother and sister of Massachusetts State Trooper Tamar Bucci, who died in the line of duty last year and was honored at the 2022 Vitale Memorial Golf Tournament. She died when her cruiser was struck by a tanker truck while assisting another motorist. And Jimmy O’Leary was there and recognized for the loss he suffered 60 years earlier. On August 2, 1963, his father, Boston Patrolman James B. O’Leary, was shot and killed during a liquor store robbery.

During my remarks at this year’s dinner, I recalled a soul-stirring song that I heard at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney, Australia Summer Olympics. The song was performed by Vanessa Amorosi and its title was “Heroes Live Forever.” Since that time, it has been the guiding message behind the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and so many others who are committed to honoring and remembering our fallen policing professionals. Thanks to his family, friends, colleagues and citizen supporters, Harold Vitale is truly a hero who will live forever.

Craig W. Floyd is the Founding CEO of Citizens Behind the Badge, and is the Founding CEO Emeritus of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, where he led the effort to build the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and the National Law Enforcement Museum.