March 8, 2023 – Harrisburg, PA– As Temple University continues to mourn the tragic loss of TU Police Sergeant Christopher Fitzgerald, today State Senator Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia/Montgomery) announced the awarding of a grant to support the university’s police department.
The $1,767,049 grant, awarded through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), is funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act.
“How can we honor the life of a such a positive role model and take steps to prevent this kind of tragedy from ever happening again?” asked Senator Hughes, who serves on the PCCD board and advocated for TUPD to receive this award. “We can put the guns down, we can invest in our communities and our young people, and we can make sure more resources, like this grant, make their way to the Temple University Police Department so that its officers are equipped with what they need to stay safe while protecting and serving the Temple community.”
The funding will go toward the police department’s gunshot detection and license plate reader technology, retention and recruitment bonuses, crisis intervention and de-escalation training, rape aggression defense instruction training, records management system/National Incident-Based Reporting System upgrades, and CCTV cameras.
Sgt. Fitzgerald, 31, lost his life in the line of duty Saturday, February 18. He was gunned down in North Philadelphia. A suspect has been arrested and charged with murder in Fitzgerald’s death.
Late Wednesday morning, members of the Pennsylvania State Senate unanimously approved a condolence resolution in honor of Sgt. Fitzgerald.
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