NEWTOWN BOROUGH, PA — The members of the Newtown Borough Police Department on Sunday morning paused to remember fallen Officer Brian Gregg at the Newtown Cemetery.
Nineteen years ago, Gregg was gunned down inside the emergency room at St. Mary Medical Center.
“We are gathered here today to remember Officer Brian Gregg and the sacrifice he made for the residents of Newtown Borough and his fellow officers. We truly miss him every day,” said Chief James Sabath noting that Gregg’s presence continues to be felt every day at the station and through the insignias that have been placed in his memory on the borough’s patrol cars.
“A lot of us didn’t have the fortune of getting to know Officer Gregg but we’ve heard a lot of stories after the fact. We are sorry that we didn’t get to know him,” said the chief.
Former Newtown Borough Police Officer Colleen Rosenthal, who often partnered with Gregg while on duty, said Gregg enjoyed being out in the community and interacting with the public.
Remembering Officer Brian Gregg at the Newtown Cemetery are, from left, Colleen Rosenthal, Police Chief James Sabath, Sgt. Sean Orr, Officer George J. Rusinko IV and Officer Charles Gorski.
“Brian and I started working together because we got along,” she said. “He absolutely loved business checks and community events – anything that gave him the chance to mix and mingle,” she said. “One of my favorite memories of him is his love of creamy peanut butter bars from
Newtown Chocolatier.“
Chief Sabath said that Gregg left a legacy for the department to follow of community policing, setting the example of walking downtown, talking with and interacting with people. “That legacy lives on in the department. I’m sure he would be pleased with the direction the department has made in the different things we have done and the different things we have accomplished.”
Officer Gregg had just started as a full-time officer after serving as a part-time officer when tragedy struck. He was shot and killed on Sept. 29, 2005 after a prisoner was able to gain possession of his partner’s service weapon in the emergency department at St. Mary.
The 46-year-old officer and his partner were guarding a suspect who had been arrested earlier in
the evening for drunk driving and had been taken to the hospital to undergo blood and urine tests.
While in the emergency room, the man began to struggle with the officers. He gained control of the second officer’s service weapon and opened fire, striking Officer Gregg in the chest. The man also shot the second officer in the chest and wounded a hospital technician. The prisoner then walked up to Officer Gregg who was on the ground, and shot him in the head, killing him.
The man fled the emergency room and was located about an hour later hiding in a car in the hospital’s parking garage. He was taken into custody and charged with one count of capital murder and two counts of attempted murder. He was found guilty and sentenced to death on Nov. 17, 2006.
Gregg was born in Bristol and grew up in Levittown. He was a graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School (Harry S Truman High School), the Bucks County Community College, Ferris State University and the Middlesex Fire Academy.
For 15 years, Gregg worked as a contractor and owned his own business in the area. He then pursued his ambition to become a police officer graduating from the Temple University Police Academy in 2002.
Gregg was hired as a part-time officer with Newtown Borough in 2003. He was later hired as a full time officer in October 2004.
“Brian truly loved his community and he was proud to serve the town of Newtown,” reads his obituary. “He never hesitated to answer the call to duty or to help others.”
In April 2014 a section of the Newtown Bypass between South State Street and Durham Road was renamed the Officer Gregg Memorial Bypass. The borough also dedicated a park in his memory on North Congress Street.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
Click Here: SL Benfica soccer tracksuit