Roll of Honor
Incident
Lieutenant Joseph Rafay suffered a fatal heart attack while struggling with a suspect at the scene of a disturbance at a bar in the 700 block of East Railroad Street shortly before 10:30 pm. Lieutenant Rafay, another officer, and the suspect fell to the ground during the struggle as they were escorting the suspect outside. When Lieutenant Rafay stood back up, he collapsed. He was transported to a hospital in Pittsburgh, where he was pronounced dead. Lieutenant Rafay was a U.S. Army veteran of WWII and had served with the Verona Police Department for 20 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and child.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-PA-9FFD68FE- 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 served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Lieutenant Rafay gave the Verona Borough Police Department 20 years.
Thank you for your service to the Verona community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Joseph Rafay, Jr. served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Lieutenant Joseph Rafay, Jr. is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In PA, 118 of 1,261 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 9.4% of this state's fallen. That is 5.4 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
At Verona Borough Police Department, 1 of 3 officers on record were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 33.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Joseph Rafay, Jr.'s cause is highlighted.
How Joseph Rafay, Jr. Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Joseph Rafay, Jr. is highlighted in Jan.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
2 officers from Verona Borough Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
