PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The North Philadelphia street where a Temple University police officer was shot and killed in the line of duty in February has been renamed in his honor.
Officials say more than a thousand neighbors signed a petition to rename West Montgomery Avenue between 17th and 18th streets “Christopher Fitzgerald Way.” At a ceremony on Thursday, a sea of attendees, many of them fellow officers, filled that block.
“Sgt. Fitzgerald lived a life of real public service, ever serving, ever helping, ever encouraging to all who met him,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said.
“Now when people walk down this block they will see Chris’ name. They will see the name of a hero.”
More local and state leaders, including Temple’s acting President JoAnne Epps and Mayor Jim Kenney, expressed their gratitude for the Temple University police sergeant’s service and their admiration of his impact and legacy as a hero. He is the first Temple officer to be killed in the line of duty.
Fitzgerald’s surviving family said they hope his “spirit of service” will live on.
“Everyone has the opportunity to make this city better — to elevate the expectations across the city, to make this city what we all were born and raised and know — and that is this is a place of extreme love and extreme happiness,” said his father, Joel.
“He wanted change for this city that he loved, that he was raised in, and that he was born in — and he’s making that change his way,” said his widow, Marissa.
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Four months after Fitzgerald’s death, they said, they hope the street sign will help people to not only remember the 31-year-old father but also to embody the “Fitzgerald way.”
“Christopher always has y’all’s back, and he’s gonna stay here, at Temple, guarding these streets, guarding these students, and making sure that y’all are safe.”
The man accused of murdering Fitzgerald, Miles Pfeffer, is behind bars, awaiting trial on murder charges.
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