Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Nesty Valente was killed when he was thrown from the running board of a vehicle that was transporting an injured boy to the hospital.
The boy had been struck by a vehicle nearby and suffered severe leg injuries The driver of the vehicle placed the boy in the car and began driving him to the hospital through heavy traffic.
Officer Valente was flagged down and then jumped onto the car's running board and sounded his whistle as they continued to the hospital. As they approached the intersection of Broad Street and Wyoming Street the driver hit his brakes hard, throwing Officer Valente to the ground.
Officer Valente was taken to the hospital in a taxi but succumbed to his injuries.
Officer Valente had served with the Hazleton City Police Department for 17 years.
Was my honor to follow thru on a story my father told me as a boy, that his mothers sister , Susan Valente (maiden name Danes) husband Ernesto was the the first police officer to die in the line of duty in the city of Hazleton PA. So I searched the net for any old newspaper articles of his sacrifice and came across The ODMP page. Again no tribute to this man. So I contacted Chief Frank D’Andrea and he put the tribute together. I also was able to bring his grandchildren to Hazleton the second year of the tribute. I am proud to be a father of a Police Officer and all our men and women in blue. And Especially proud to have been a factor in honoring Patrolman Valente after 75 years of his sacrifice. Bill Juliano
Great Nephew of Officer Ernesto Valente Hazleton Pa Police Dept End of watch May 15, 1938 January 31st, 2022
In Our Keeping
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BO-US-PA-67295E34- Stewardship
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- 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.
Officer Valente gave the Hazleton City Police Department 17 years.
Thank you for your service to the Hazleton community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Valente.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Officer Ernesto "Nesty" Valente 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 PA, 417 of 1,261 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.1% of this state's fallen. That is 2.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Hazleton City Police Department, 1 of 2 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Ernesto "Nesty" Valente's cause is highlighted.
How Ernesto "Nesty" Valente Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Ernesto "Nesty" Valente is highlighted in May.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from Hazleton City Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
