The services honored the three on-duty officers killed in 2015: Cpl. Scott R. Thompson of the Manchester Township Police Department and State Police Troopers Anthony A. Raspa and Eli M. McCarson Watch video
OCEAN GROVE -- Michelle Carroll married Trooper William L. Carroll Jr. at St. Peter's Church in New Brunswick on May 26, 1984. Six weeks later, Michelle Carroll returned to that church to attend her husband's funeral.
William L. Carroll Jr. was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer on the New Jersey Turnpike while walking back to his patrol car. He was 29.
"Instantly, life changed, from newlywed to widow, in the blink of an eye," Michelle Carroll recalled on Tuesday morning, standing at a podium in front of hundreds of law enforcement officers and officials from across the state. "Billy lived, worked and died in and for the State of New Jersey."
Carroll, president of the New Jersey State Police Survivors of the Triangle, said she has since taken her story of "survivorship" to police recruits, police unions, administrators and senators to help "bring to the forefront the needs of surviving families."
She did just that at the Great Auditorium in Ocean Grove for the 32nd annual New Jersey law enforcement memorial service. A sea of blue filled the rows of seats at the auditorium to honor all men and women who died in the line of duty. This year's service was held in honor of the three on-duty officers who died in 2015: Cpl. Scott R. Thompson of the Manchester Township Police Department and State Police Troopers Anthony A. Raspa and Eli M. McCarson.
Sketch photos of all three officers were prominently displayed at the front of the auditorium, and their families were in attendance.
Acting Attorney General Robert Lougy described the fallen officers as "genuine doers" who "fought for what was right and held the line against what was wrong."
"The fallen officers that we honor here today came from different backgrounds and different walks of life, and worked in different regions of the state and handled different aspects of the all-encompassing law enforcement mission," Lougy said. "But, despite these differences, all were linked by a common thread: They served the public, they served it proudly and they served it until the end."
Thompson, a 17-year veteran with the Manchester Police Department, suffered a fatal heart attack while exercising at a police department gym. Raspa, 24, was killed after his patrol car hit a deer on Interstate 195 in Upper Freehold. McCarson, 30, died after he crashed into a utility pole on the way to a domestic dispute call.
Car crashes are the leading cause of state trooper deaths.
Since the State Police was founded in 1921, 70 troopers have died in the line of duty. Of those 70, 10 troopers were accidentally struck by vehicles, 22 died in troop car collisions and 17 died in motorcycle crashes, according to data from the state and the Officer Down Memorial Page.
Over that same period, two troopers were deliberately assaulted with automobiles, one was stabbed and 11 were shot.
One of those shot and killed was Trooper Philip J. Lamonaco. Lamonaco, 32, was shot nine times during a gun battle with two men who were in a vehicle he stopped on Route 80 in Knowlton on Dec. 21, 1981.
Marshal Juan Mattos Jr. of the U.S. Marshal's District of New Jersey, the keynote speaker at the memorial service, was friends with Lamonaco when Mattos was a trooper.
Mattos said he misses his friend, which he called "one of the most highly decorated troopers in New Jersey State Police history," but has had the pleasure of watching his son, Michael, follow in his footsteps.
"Regardless of the passage of time, the memory of Trooper Philip Lamonaco, and many others like him who made the ultimate sacrifice protecting our communities, our state and our country, should never and will never be forgotten," Mattos said.
For Michelle Carroll, there's no timetable or true closure to the loss of a loved one.
"We will always miss them," she said. "They're our heroes, not because of the way they died, but because of the way they lived."
Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.