Memorial honors
Officer Skerski

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

"Police officer, co-worker, friend, son, husband, father and by all accounts an all-around good guy."
Those were the words that John McNesby, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, chose to describe Gary Skerski last week. And that’s what was lost when an armed robber gunned down the 15th Police District’s community-relations officer two years ago.
On May 7, McNesby, Mayor Michael Nutter, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, Skerski’s former police colleagues and countless friends and supporters honored the ultimate sacrifice made by Skerski and his family with the dedication of a memorial plaque outside of Pat’s Café in Northwood, where the policeman was shot to death while thwarting a robbery inside the bar.
"Gary was a great family man. He was a great husband. He was a terrific dad," Skerski’s widow, Anne, told the crowd of hundreds gathered at Castor Avenue and Arrott Street for the ceremony.
The couple would have celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary this week.
"The morning before he died," Anne Skerski told the crowd, "we said goodbye, he dropped the children off at school as he normally did every day, and he never came home. It’s been a struggle, but everybody has been so kind to us and thoughtful. Thank you."
It was at that very spot on May 8, 2006 where Skerski, 46, of Port Richmond, met his tragic fate. It was just after 10 on a Monday night when a masked gunman burst into the taproom, a shotgun in one hand and a pistol in the other. As he threatened to kill about 12 patrons and a barmaid and took their cash, another person in the bar was able to secretly dial 911.
Skerski, who worked a steady day shift but had volunteered for overtime that evening, responded to the call for help with a partner, Officer William Alexander.
As Alexander covered the front door of the corner business, Skerski went to a rear entrance where the gunman, Solomon Montgomery, waited with shotgun drawn. When Skerski got to the doorway, Montgomery fired from close range, wounding the officer in the head and neck.
As the robber fled on foot, he fired at Alexander, who was not wounded. Backup officers rushed Skerski to Temple University Hospital, where he died just before midnight.
Officers captured Montgomery 10 days later after a brief vehicle and foot pursuit near the Olney apartment building where he had been hiding out. He was armed with two guns at the time of his arrest.
Montgomery eventually pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and is serving a life sentence in state prison.
Skerski also is survived by his son Robert, 15, who attends Roman Catholic High School, and daughter Nicole, 12, a student at St. Adalbert’s School.
"It’s hard to be here today, but I feel that I need to thank everyone for coming here and for your continued support for myself, my children and our entire family," Anne Skerski said. "Thank you for remembering Gary and honoring him and keeping his memory alive. It means everything to us."
The ceremony was the 50th orchestrated by the Hero Plaque Program that began in 2001 when attorney Jimmy Binns coordinated a partnership among the FOP and civilian contributors to memorialize Officer Daniel Faulkner at 13th and Locust streets on the 20th anniversary of his shooting death there by death-row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Skerski’s colleagues in the 15th district sponsored his plaque with support from local businesses, trade unions and individual contributors. Mayor Michael Nutter and Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey spoke during the ceremony, along with District Attorney Lynne Abraham, state Sen. Christine Tartaglione, an aide to U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter and Inspector John Heath, who commands the Northeast Police Division.
"Right from the beginning, there was never any doubt that the 15th district was going to sponsor this plaque," said Heath.
Capt. Frank Bachmayer, commander of the district, was unable to attend because he was in court supporting his family during a re-trial of the man previously convicted of murdering his father-in-law, Police Officer Thomas Trench, in 1985.
The Skerski plaque dedication took further poignancy with the mention of the Trench case, as well as the killings of Officer Stephen Liczbinski on May 3 and Officer Chuck Cassidy last Oct. 31. Like the Skerski case, armed robberies precipitated those slayings.
"It’s hard to carry on after something like this has happened," Heath said. "But there’s one thing we have to remember: It’s the example that Gary, Chuck and now Steve gave to all of us. We are going to carry on. It’s the least we can do and what we’re gonna do."
The inspector recalled Skerski as "a great cop and an even better person, a good friend and a good worker."
"His sense of humor would break me up," Heath said while fighting back tears.
Ramsey commended the support that the Skerski family has given to the Liczbinski family.
"You’ve been brave enough not only to continue to take part in this, but to assist their family in their time of trouble," the commissioner said. "I wish I could say this violence could end, but I wouldn’t be telling the truth. I have no idea when this violence will end." ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com