Roll of Honor
Stephen John Petruzzello
Incident
Police Officer Stephen Petruzzello succumbed to injuries sustained two days earlier when he was struck by a car on Walker Street, near First Street.
He and another officer were crossing the street at approximately 6:30 pm when they were both struck by an SUV. Both officers were transported to a local hospital where Officer Petruzzello remained until succumbing to severe head injuries. The other officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the vehicle was issued several traffic citations in connection with the incident.
Officer Petruzzello had served with the Cliffside Park Police Department for only one month after graduating from the police academy.
He was posthumously promoted to the rank of police officer.
Survivors
He was survived by his parents and sister.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NJ-D8AE45A7- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Police Officer Petruzzello served with the Cliffside Park Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Cliffside Park community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Petruzzello.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer Stephen John Petruzzello is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NJ, 258 of 646 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.9% of this state's fallen. That is 8.9 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Stephen John Petruzzello's cause is highlighted.
How Stephen John Petruzzello Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Stephen John Petruzzello is highlighted in Dec.