It was the night before Thanksgiving and he could have gone home earlier.
But that’s not how Falls police officer Ray Maietta has worked the streets of the Cataract City for the past 27 years. On his final day on patrol, Ray was still working with half an hour left on his shift.
“I guess he wasn’t gonna leave till his work was done,” said one cop. “That’s the way Ray is.”
Almost half of the Falls Police Department showed up at the B Platoon roll call Wednesday to say good-bye and pay their respects to Maietta. Few officers in the department are held in higher regard than Ray.
Some officers told me Ray didn’t want to make a big deal out of his retirement. But it is a big deal.
Folks in the Falls are losing one of their finest.
I meet Ray when I first started working at the Gazette. He defined the word professional.
You can look it up in the dictionary because Ray’s picture is probably there next to the word. He was one of the nicest, and quietest and low-key guys you’d ever meet, but he was a consummate cop.
“Ray did his job with kindness and courtesy,” Falls Police Detective Lt. Ernest Palmer said.
Palmer joined the force shortly before Maietta and remembers that when Ray first came on the job, he wasn’t sure being a police officer was the right career for him. The detective chief says Maietta thought about leaving but then decided to stick around.
“It was a great decision for the people of Niagara Falls,” Palmer said.
Maietta spent years patrolling the streets in LaSalle and did it as well as any cop could.
“You couldn’t have asked for anything more from an officer, than you got from Ray,” Administrative Capt. John DeMarco said.
I didn’t get a chance to say good-bye to Ray, but if he’s reading this, “Good job man. You did it right. Enjoy you’re retirement.”
Quick from the bench
Niagara County Court Judge Sara Sheldon Sperrazza is not just a veteran jurist, she is one of the smoothest operating and quick-witted judges you’ll ever find a in a courtroom. At a hearing last week, the judge was particularly quick in catching Falls police Detective Pat Stack in a little memory lapse.
After identifying himself as a police detective, Sperrazza asked Stack, “Where are you employed?”
Without a second of hesitation, the veteran detective replied,” 520 Hyde Park Blvd.”
Instantly, Sperrazza said, “Not any more.”
Stack stopped, smiled, then realized he wasn’t out of work.
“Ah, 1925 Main St.,” he said.
“That’s right,” the judge replied.
Contact reporter Rick Pfeiffer
at 282-2311, ext. 2252.
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