Stephen John Petruzzello
Agency patch
Police Officer

Stephen John Petruzzello

Cliffside Park Police Department — Cliffside Park, NJ
Accident
End of Watch December 29, 2014
Age 22
Tour of Duty 1 mo
The Vigil Panel 164 ›
Gender Male

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
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 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

Type Police Department
Location Cliffside Park, Bergen County, NJ
Platform Identity cppd.bergen.nj.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 29, 2014
Tour of Duty 1 mo
Age 22
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident
Cause Detail Struck by vehicle

Police Officer Stephen John Petruzzello is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 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 39.9 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

Cliffside Park Police Department
1
of 1 officers
100% Accident
NJ — Statewide
258
of 646 officers
39.9% Accident
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Stephen John Petruzzello's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How Stephen John Petruzzello Compares

Age at Death
22
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
0.1
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Stephen John Petruzzello is highlighted in Dec.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
708
May
848
Jun
797
Jul
899
Aug
938
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location

Others Who Wore This Badge

0 officers from Cliffside Park Police Department are honored on badge.nw.