The Rockville Centre Police Department recently donated $30,000 in zero coupon bonds to each of Nassau County Police Officer Michael Califano's three children. The bonds mature on their 18th birthdays and will be used for their education.
Califano of Wantagh was struck and killed when a flatbed truck slammed into his car during a routine traffic stop on the Long Island Expressway in February.
Commissioner Charles Gennario said the donation was done in the Department’s name by the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation — a charitable organization dedicated to ensuring the children of Marines and federal law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty, have an opportunity for higher education.
“Men in blue today have a very difficult job and face danger virtually every turnout," Gennario said. "It is up to the survivors to make sure the families are taken care of. Marines have a code, 'Never leave a fallen Marine on the battlefield.' That goes for their families also."
"The same is true in law enforcement," he added. "Cops can do their jobs more effectively if they know their families are taken care of if the worse happens to them...They and their families make sacrifices each day and some make the ultimate sacrifice for the residents of this country and county. It is up to the rest of the law enforcement community to make sure their families are provided for."
