Resolution 150591

..Title Mourning the death and honoring the memory of the life of Police Officer Walter J. Dewitt III, a Philadelphia Police Officer for 33 years who passed away June 5, 2015 while undergoing surgery at Hahneman University Hospital to repair a fractured shoulder he suffered in an accident in a patrol car in 1995 and further injured in an accident at the Philadelphia Police Academy firing range in October 2014. ..Body WHEREAS, Officer Walter J. DeWitt III served as a Philadelphia Police Officer for thirty-three years after joining the force in February 1982; and WHEREAS, He graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in 1978 and after working various odd jobs joined the Philadelphia Police force; and WHEREAS, At the time of his death, Officer Walter J. DeWitt III was 55 years old, resided in the Far Northeast section of Philadelphia, and was a current Police Officer and firearms instructor at the Philadelphia Police Academy; and WHEREAS, He was also a loving son, brother of David H. Dewitt, devoted husband to Denise DeWitt (née Ritchie), and father to Walter J. DeWitt IV; and WHEREAS, Officer DeWitt was a long time leader and service member to the Philadelphia Police Department; and WHEREAS, Due to injury in the Act of the Line of Duty, Officer Walter J. DeWitt III required surgery to repair his fractured shoulder to continue his service to the force; and WHEREAS, He passed away after complications from the surgery on June 5, 2015; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby mourn the death and celebrate the life and memory of Officer Walter J. DeWitt III. To his loving family we extend our most profound condolences, and the hope that you will find comfort in the peace he has now surely found. FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to his widow, Denise DeWitt (née Ritchie), on behalf of all the citizens of this City and as a sign of this body's respect and gratitude for the many years of service that Officer Walter J. DeWitt III made in the line of duty serving as a patrol man, an advisor, a peer, as well as a firearms instructor at the Philadelphia Police Academy. ..End