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Sergeant Norman G Vezina
On a freezing cold day in December of 1968, Smithfield Patrolman
Norman
G. Vezina gave his life in
the line of duty while attempting to rescue five year-old Kenneth
Firby who had fallen through the ice and into the frigid water
of the Spragueville Reservoir. Patrolman Vezina
had arrived on the scene before the
firefighters and rescue squad and, without hesitation, plunged into
the icy water and reached the boy.
Patrolman Vezina struggled
to lift the boy above water, town firemen tried unsuccessfully
several times to throw a rescue rope within his reach.
Tragically, both Patrolman Vezina and Kenneth Firby
disappeared beneath the surface of the ice before the firefighters
could reach them.
Norman Vezina was promoted posthumously to the rank of Sergeant. He was 38
years-old when
he died, the newest member of the Smithfield Police Department. He
had been a police officer for only eight months.
Sergeant Norman G. Vezina unselfishly gave his life while in the
performance of his duty, and he died upholding the highest
traditions of the Smithfield Police Department.
Read
the 1968 news stories from the
Providence-Journal Bulletin
Read a transcript of the police and fire
department reports
See the actual police report
.pdf document - contributed by James
Ignasher
Read the 30th
Anniversary news story from the Providence Journal
The Officer Down Memorial Page
Today, there is a permanent memorial to Sgt. Vezina at the
Smithfield Veterans Memorial in
Deerfield Park:
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"THE MEMORY OF
SERGEANT
NORMAN G. VEZINA
WHOSE ULTIMATE GIFT
HIS LIFE
TAKEN IN THE ATTEMPT TO SAVE
THE LIFE OF A CHILD DECEMBER 10, 1968
SHALL CONTINUE TO LIVE ON FOREVER
IN THE HEARTS OF THE
PEOPLE OF SMITHFIELD" |
Sgt. Vezina is also memorialized at the
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial
in Washington, DC. (Panel
34 W - Line 10):
Photo courtesy of the
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial
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