Honors for the officer

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

A tragic event 12 years ago at the intersection of Limekiln Pike and Andrews Avenue in West Oak Lane changed Jo-Ann Hayes’ life forever.
Her husband, Robert, a 45-year-old decorated Vietnam War veteran and Philadelphia police officer, was murdered by an illegal immigrant from Haiti.
"I wanted to come down here so many times," she said, "but it was so hard."
Hayes finally made it to Limekiln and Andrews last week when a plaque was unveiled on the northeast corner of the intersection to memorialize her husband.
The plaque reads, "In memory of Police Officer Robert S. Hayes #6720. Died in the line of duty protecting the citizens of Philadelphia on June 16, 1993. Dedicated by his family and friends."
Hayes thinks the plaque is an appropriate honor for her husband’s memory.
"I’m very proud of my husband," she said.
The June 8 ceremony marked the 10th plaque dedication. Attorney Jimmy Binns, with the help of Cement Masons Union Local 592 and citizen sponsors, vows to memorialize all 268 Philadelphia cops killed in the line of duty, along with two who died in the Vietnam War. The plaque was sponsored by Dilsheimer Communities, a Bala Cynwyd-based home builder.
Jo-Ann Hayes was joined by her three sons (Bobby, Shawn and Ryan), along with grandchildren Shawn, Robert, Corey and Colette, who know their grandpop only through pictures. She said another granddaughter, Amy, is with her husband in heaven.
Richie and Hal Hayes, the slain officer’s brothers, removed the roses, candles and cloth that covered the plaque.
"We miss him very much," Jo-Ann Hayes said. "He’ll always be missed in our hearts."
Robert Hayes was a policeman for a little more than seven years, having entered Police Academy Class 267 on March 3, 1986, at age 38.
The Hayes children were 8, 9 and 10 when their father was shot to death by Borgela Philistin, who was riding in a gypsy cab when Hayes and partner John Marynowitz, officers in the 35th Police District, made what they thought would be a routine traffic stop.
Instead, the officers saw drugs in the car and tried to apprehend Philistin. He resisted when asked to get out of the car and began to struggle with the officers, managing to grab Marynowitz’s gun. He fatally shot Hayes in the eye and stomach and wounded Marynowitz in the head and shoulder.
Philistin was convicted and sentenced to die. The Hayes family found it agonizing three years ago when an execution date was set, only to be stayed by a judge. Before Philistin dies by lethal injection, the family wants to speak with him to ask him why he did it and ask if he’s sorry.
The murderer forced Jo-Ann Hayes to raise her boys by herself and ended the life of a man she said "made everything right." One time, when the boys cried after getting brush haircuts, their dad cut his hair in a weird way so they didn’t feel as bad.
The family doesn’t get to celebrate Father’s Day, and the holiday is especially painful when it falls on the anniversary of the murder.
Jo-Ann Hayes and her sons have plenty of memories of their husband and father. They went bowling together and caught crabs at the Jersey shore. Dad also played Santa Claus and helped his kids with their school work.
The officer played baseball with his boys in the back yard of his Rhawnhurst home on that fateful day in June 1993, kissing his family good-bye for what would be the final time.
Shawn Hayes, 21, said some of the pain has gone away, but not all of it. The only good things about that night, he said, are that Marynowitz survived and a drug dealer and murderer was taken off the street.
"The holidays are hard for us because there’s one less family member," he said.
Shawn, the middle son, said his family is grateful for the plaque.
"People now know that an officer gave his life in the line of duty," he said.
The young man also thanked his father’s fellow police officers for being there for his family "since the knock on the door that night."
Among those at the ceremony were Marynowitz, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 president Bob Eddis, City Controller Jonathan Saidel, District Attorney Lynne Abraham, Deputy Police Commissioner Pat Fox and Phillies broadcaster Larry Andersen, a player at the time of the incident who became close to Marynowitz.
It’s almost inevitable, Eddis said, that some officers will have to sacrifice their lives in preserving the peace, but he’s convinced that God has a greater reward for them. Police recruits are reminded of the ultimate sacrifice made by the officers who preceded them.
Eddis said families become permanent members of the extended police family on the day their loved one joins the academy.
"You never walk alone," he said.
Saidel said he cancels any plans he has to attend plaque dedication ceremonies. He does so out of respect for the officers who put their lives on the line to protect his four children.
Abraham recognized Roger King, the prosecutor who won a conviction and death sentence for Philistin. The district attorney refused to say the name of someone she called a "wicked, evil and heartless murderer."
"It doesn’t deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Hayes and Marynowitz," she said.
Abraham said the death sentence was appropriate.
"I hope and I pray every day of my existence that it is carried out," she said. "This world will not miss that person." ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com