Officers of the Month
honored at PDAC meeting

By Diane Prokop
Times Staff Writer

Capt. Frank Bachmayer didn’t attend last week’s 15th Police District Advisory Council meeting.
According to PDAC president Scott Cummings, Bachmayer, who commands the 15th district, was at home with his family following a guilty verdict earlier in the day in the retrial of Wilfredo Santiago for the 1985 murder of his wife Annemarie’s father, police officer Thomas Trench.
Santiago faces an automatic life sentence.
Lt. Rob Zaffino stood in for the captain and presented the April Officer of the Month awards to officers Dennis Szychulski and Brian McCullion. The two were recognized for their work in arresting four people in connection with a robbery and aggravated assault in connection with a drug deal, in which the victim received severe facial and torso injuries.
"It is due to the alertness and dedication to duty as Philadelphia police officer involved in this incident that a heinous crime was solved and the perpetrator arrested. The diligence and professionalism shown by police officer McCullion and police officer Szychulski reflect positively on the department and instill a sense of confidence in the citizens of Philadelphia…," Zaffino read.
In addition to the plaques, the officers were also presented with commendations from Philadelphia City Council and state Sen. Tina Tartaglione (D-2nd dist.).
In other business, Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Cella announced that she will leave her position on the DA’s Nuisance Task Force to become director of operations for the University of Pennsylvania’s department of public safety.
• PDAC vice president Nancy Doerr announced that the 15th District Curfew Center is still looking for volunteers.
• Scott Mulvey, an aide to City Councilman Bill Green (D-at large), asks anyone with information about police officer Gottlob Klemmer, who was shot in September 1919 near the "Five Points" intersection of Cottman, Oxford and Rising Sun avenues in Burholme, to contact him at 215-686-3420/21. Klemmer died from the bullet wounds eight years later.
The information is needed to assist the councilman’s office for the city’s fallen hero plaque program. ••
For more information about Klemmer, visit http://www.odmp.org/officer/7612-policeman-gottlob-klemmer
Reporter Diane Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dprokop@phillynews.com