Superintendent Greg Hudon and the Lowell Police Department would like to thank several retired officers and residents for revitalizing police memorials in front of 50 Arcand Drive this week, just in time for the department to recognize the 28th anniversary of a plane crash that killed four Lowell Police Officers and a North Reading Officer.
Retired Officers James Hodgdon, David Pender, Jerry Flynn, and Joe Espinola, along with Joe Rizzuto, Greater Lowell Technical High School School Committee Member Curtis LeMay and City Councilor Erik Gitschier took about six hours to trim overgrown brush back away from the memorials and then put down fresh mulch. A resident who was just walking by, Alexander Hak, also volunteered to help.
The memorials include a statue honoring Officer Christos G. Rouses, as well as a memorial honoring those who lost their lives in an Oct. 20, 1996 plane crash in Canada. Retired Lowell Sgt. John F. Sullivan Jr.; Lowell Capt. Steven Smith; Lowell Patrolman Donald Brill; Lowell Patrolman David Seamans; and North Reading Officer Robert Marchionda were among eight men who lost their lives in the crash on Oct. 20, 1996, in what is commonly referred to as the darkest day in the history of the Lowell Police Department.
Officer Rouses is the last Lowell Police Officer to die in the line of duty.
“I want to thank these retired officers and residents for their hard work to revitalize both memorials,” said Superintendent Hudon. “I’d also like to thank the Parks Department for picking up some of the trash leftover from the cleanup. The area looks great.”