Police Officer in my town shot and killed by his son yesterday!!!

[akshatp]

Horrible tragedy in our small town today. One of the most respected public figures in our town, Officer Jerry Mahoney was shot in the face twice by his 19 year old son. Alot of people referred to him as the unofficial mayor of P-way.

I remember Det. Mahoney from back in my grade school days when he used to preach about not using drugs and staying on track in life. One of the very few people of authority I actually remember from childhood other than my parents.

I still live in Piscataway, about 1.5 miles from the Mahoney's.

Sad day today for our community.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.s...olice_officer_was.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12...nyregion/28shoot.html?
http://www.thnt.com/apps/pbcs....20071227/NEWS/71227008

RIP Jerry

 

[ed21x]

sounds like a man that truely wanted to make the world a better place. what a huge loss

 

[SaoFeng]

that sucks

 

[akshatp]

Originally posted by: ed21x
sounds like a man that truely wanted to make the world a better place. what a huge loss

You know, whenever someone dies tragically like this, the news story is always "he was the best neighbor, or he was the nicest guy, or he would have helped anyone, etc." and usually its just people saying nice things about someone thats dead.

But I can honestly say, in this case most of everything you read in those storeis is true. Im sure he had his problems, I mean he was seperated from his wife and obviously there was some tension between him and his son, but he truely was a genuinely nice man and did alot for the Piscataway community. He was a true P-way man -- raised, schooled and worked his whole life here.

 

[PrinceofWands]

Whoa! I was very scared there at first when I read the name because we have a Sheriff Mahoney here in my town, with a son who I went to school with.

I feel a bit bad for being relieved that it was somewhere else, but there it is. Still a horrible event though.

 

[paulney]

I hope the information received from a friend named 'Jerry' is not true. But it's unsettling.

 

[JD50]

 

[jagec]

Whoa. The comments are what were really interesting...

RIP. I used to be chased regularly by him in my youth.

This is a shock. He used to chase all of us around Piscataway trying to keep us out of trouble. Who would do this?! Piscataway has lost an integral part of its foundation. Let this be a sign to keep his work alive more now than ever.
My condolensces go out to his family and close friends.
R.I.P. Mahoney. You will be missed.

I met Jerry when I got pulled over for driving on the suspended list. He was so nice and on the way to the police station we stopped at Dunkin Donuts to get something to eat for my daughterm because she was hungry. That was the type of person he was. He will be missed.

Even the people who were on the "wrong end" of the law liked and respected him. That's amazing.

 

[akshatp]

Originally posted by: jagec
Whoa. The comments are what were really interesting...

RIP. I used to be chased regularly by him in my youth.

This is a shock. He used to chase all of us around Piscataway trying to keep us out of trouble. Who would do this?! Piscataway has lost an integral part of its foundation. Let this be a sign to keep his work alive more now than ever.
My condolensces go out to his family and close friends.
R.I.P. Mahoney. You will be missed.

I met Jerry when I got pulled over for driving on the suspended list. He was so nice and on the way to the police station we stopped at Dunkin Donuts to get something to eat for my daughterm because she was hungry. That was the type of person he was. He will be missed.

Even the people who were on the "wrong end" of the law liked and respected him. That's amazing.

That is truely the kind of person he was. He treated everyone with respect and never rushed to judgement. He always gave people the benefit of the doubt, and most importantly a second chance to right their wrongs.

 

[effee]

This is why you should beat your kids.

 

[mattlear]

My family knew Jerry pretty well - my brother had gone to cub scouts with him, and he grew up around the corner from me. Jerry was like a big teddy bear - truly one of the nicest people I ever met.

Last time I spoke to Jerry was over the summer - I was out late night food shopping and I ran into him at the grocery store - we talked for about a half an hour about family, jobs, etc. He always asked how my family was doing, and I remember talking to him about his son, and what he was up to. This is just surreal.

He was active in the township - not only was he a police officer, but he also started the DARE program here, and was a frequent memeber of the school board. He would give you the shirt off his back - even if you were a complete stranger.

I heard that he was asleep in his recliner when his son shot him multiple times in the face. The entire town is pretty stunned by the news.

The world definitely lost one of the good guys yesterday.

 

[Azraele]

Why would his son do such a thing?

 

[novasatori]

that's terrible, in some of the comments they linked to his son's myspace, but its set to private.

I feel depressed now.

 

[SmoochyTX]

Originally posted by: JD50

 

[akshatp]

Originally posted by: Azraele
Why would his son do such a thing?

Who knows? Most comments say he was a good kid and gentle, etc but who knows what goes on behind closed doors? Its been heard that his dad was over protective and wouldnt let him go out so maybe that had something to do with it.