Hero Police and Firefighter Receive Valley Patriot Officer Tom Duggan Memorial Award at Annual BASH

OFFICER TOM DUGGAN SR.
LAW ENFORCEMENT AWARD

Each year, The Valley Patriot newspaper gives awards at the annual BASH to members of the community and members of The Valley Patriot family who do outstanding things.  Throughout the evening of the Valley Patriot’s 11th Anniversary BASH, publisher Tom Duggan gave out two awards in 6 categories, and four college scholarships to graduating high school seniors. Valley Patriot publisher Tom Duggan is the son of former Officer Tom Duggan Sr. who was killed in the line of duty nearly 25 years to the day of the event. He explained passionately why each recipient was chosen for the Officer Tom Duggan Sr. Law Enforcement/Public Safety Award. Video linked below.

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Former Lawrence Fire Chief Brian Murphy blew the whistle on the dangerous staffing levels at the Lawrence Fire Department during the reign of Lawrence Mayor Willie Lantigua. Mayor Lantigua had just cut 25 firefighters after receiving a $35M bailout loan. Shortly thereafter a spate of arson fires plagued the city calling for mutual aide to be needed from fire departments all across the state to handle Lawrence’s staffing shortage. Chief Murphy told the press that his men had no backup going into fires and that the public’s lives were in danger. Mayor Lantigua then hustled through a special piece of legislation to remove the fire chief’s job from civil service protection and fired him for exposing the problem. VIDEO OF THE PRESENTATION HERE
PRIOR STORIES:
Chief Murphy exposes treatment of Firefighters by Mayor Lantigua – 

Fire Chief Murphy Says He is Being Targeted

 

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Retired Woburn Police Officer Bob DiNapoli was also given the Valley Patriot newspaper’s highest awards Friday night during the newspaper’s 11th Anniversary BASH “Bob DiNapoli was a Woburn Police Officer. He responded to a jewelry store robbery where he was shot and the person who shot him jumped on the hood of his car and emptied his clip into him 6 more times….
(REST OF STORY WITH VIDEO HERE)

PREVIOUS WINNERS:
(2013) Scott Emerson, Wheelabrator Technologies
Methuen Police Officer Dan O’Connell,
(2014) Amesbury Police Officer Jason Kooken
Lawrence Firefighter Manny Gonzalez

On March 16, 1990, Lawrence Police Officer Tom Duggan, Sr. lost his life in the line of duty. He was a man who loved being a police officer and lived his life responding to cries for help in the community. While he worked on many major cases and high profile crimes, he always said that it was the day-to-day work he did, on and off duty, to help people in small ways that really made his job worth doing. The award is given to one member of public safety (police or fire) and/or have honored public safety officials in an outstanding way. Officer Duggan believed that those little extra things we do in life to help others make the biggest differences in people’s lives at the end of the day and makes the world around us a better place.