Officers from the Gloucester Township Police Department – and from around the country – traveled to Philadelphia on Oct. 24 to attend the funeral of fallen city officer Richard Carrero Mendez, a police veteran of 23 years who leaves behind a wife and daughter.
Mendez and his partner, Raul Ortiz, were shot on Oct. 12 at the start of their late shifts at Philadelphia International Airport when they heard glass break and came upon four men trying to steal a car from an airport parking garage. Mendez was struck multiple times and died shortly after at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. Ortiz was treated and released.
Three of the suspects in the shooting have been arrested; a fourth shot during the incident died of his injuries the same night. Mendez received a posthumous promotion to sergeant.
“From this moment forward, officer Mendez will be recognized as Sgt. Richard Mendez, badge 417,” said interim Police Commissioner John Stanford during the fallen officer’s funeral.
