Remembering Officer Christie

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

Jerry Christie remembers getting home early from school on Nov. 27, 1961, the Monday after Thanksgiving that year.
Then a 14-year-old freshman at Father Judge High School, he was able to see his dad James before he went to work a 4 p.m.-to-midnight shift as a 15th Police District officer.
Later that night, while studying in his room, the teenager heard a knock at the door at the family home on Elmore Road in the Far Northeast. It was William Bridgeford, a lieutenant in the 15th district.
"Son, I have some bad news," Bridgeford said.
Hearing those words, Jerry Christie knew his father had died on the job.
The elder Christie and partner William Campbell had responded to reports of a woman who tried to asphyxiate herself in a house at 4030 Robbins Ave. in Tacony by putting her head in a gas stove.
The officers carried the woman into their police wagon and transported her to Frankford Hospital. There, Christie had a heart attack, collapsed and died.
"It was very hard," recalled his daughter, Peggy Perugini. "He was only forty-six years old. We were a close family."
More than forty-six years later, Christie has been honored for his actions that night.
Last week, a plaque was dedicated in his memory in the ground outside Chickie’s & Pete’s, located at the corner of the block where he rescued the suicide-attempt victim, who survived. Monsignor Michael McCulken blessed the ground.
"This is a special day," said the officer’s son, Jim.
The plaque dedication was the 19th this year and 54th overall, with ceremonies planned for all 276 officers who died in the line of duty.
Later this month, a plaque will be dedicated at Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 headquarters for officer James Ramp, a Holmesburg resident shot to death in 1978 in Powelton Village by members of the radical group MOVE.
A similar program honors firefighters killed on the job.
The efforts are organized by Center City attorney Jimmy Binns, who made a homecoming to his old neighborhood for the July 30 ceremony. Binns became emotional when he announced the death of James Tiano Sr., who donated flowers for every ceremony. An empty chair with a flower on it honored Tiano’s contributions.
The sponsors for Christie’s plaque were Robert and Lynne Thomson.
The cement masons union installs the plaque, and the electricians union caters the events. Union Roofing supplies a limousine to transport the family to and from the site. The fire department cleans the streets.
All ceremonies feature a bugler, the police department color guard, the Philadelphia Police and Fire Pipes and Drums band and radio personality Bob Pantano as master of ceremonies. The 1501 wagon, which Christie and Campbell used that night, sat on nearby Mulberry Street.
Guests included City Council members Joan Krajewski and Frank Rizzo and local FOP president John McNesby. Deputy Police Commissioner Richard Ross presented the family with a pillow that included the words inscribed on the plaque. The office of state Sen. Tina Tartaglione delivered a citation.
James Christie’s wife Marie died in 1990. They had three children and 12 grandchildren.
"The legacy of Jimmy Christie continues through his family," said his son Jerry.
Several members of the Christie family followed the patriarch’s path into law enforcement.
Jerry Christie is a retired police officer in Marple Township, Delaware County. His older brother Jim is a retired Philadelphia police sergeant.
Jimmy and Keith Christie, the fallen officer’s grandsons, were both Philadelphia cops and were honored to wear his badge number 2660.
Today, Jimmy Christie is in the FBI and serves as a bodyguard for the agency’s director, Robert Mueller. Keith Christie is a detective with the Bensalem Police Department.
Jim and Jerry Christie thank the city for providing college scholarships for them through the Hero Scholarship Fund and for keeping in touch with the family after the tragedy.
"The police never forgot my mother," Jerry said.
James Christie’s children recalled him as a man who loved his job and had a great sense of humor. He’d appreciate the fact that his plaque is outside a bar, since he loved to drink Schmidt’s beer.
Christie was also a family man. He danced with his two grandchildren, 4-year-old Donna and 1-year-old Michael. He gave his family members a kiss good-bye before he reported for duty for the final time, with young Donna running outside saying, "I need another kiss," and asking her grandpop to bring home candy and bubble gum.
The death was also hard on the nurses at Frankford Hospital, who nicknamed Christie "Happy" because of his smile whenever he visited the hospital on duty.
The Christie children are proud of their dad and grateful that he was recognized with a plaque.
"This means so much to my family," Jim Christie said. ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com