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PAPD cops honored the 37 Port Authority police officers killed in the line of duty on September 11, 2001, during the 25th Tunnel to Towers 5K Run and Walk on September 27. The Port Authority PBA team raised more than $27,000 for Tunnel to Towers.

Rest in peace, Kentucky State Trooper Hayden Phillips (EOW September 28, 2026). According to news reports, Trooper Phillips was shot and killed in an attack on Interstate 65 in Warren County, Kentucky. Further details have not yet been released. Trooper Phillips was 27 years old and a three-year veteran of the Kentucky State Police. He is survived by his wife and three children. Trooper, rest in the Lord’s eternal embrace. Always Honored, Never Forgotten.

On September 23, PAPD officers were alerted by a PATH foreman about an injured hawk on the PATH tracks between the PATH Harrison Station and Newark Penn Station. PAPD Lieutenant Michael Conolly and Officer Daniel Lepore responded, assessed the situation, instructed PATH to cut power to the rail line and requested PAPD ESU. The Port Authority of NY and NJ reported, “PAPD ESU Officers Russell Clayton and Robert Kuche, along with Animal Control, then stepped up to get the hawk safely back on the right track. The team carefully secured the feathered passenger and placed it in a carrier, and Animal Control transported the injured hawk to a shelter for care.” The Port Authority unofficially named the hawk “Harrison.” Power was restored to the tracks, and PATH trains resumed operation.

On September 22, the PAPD and NYPD helped reunite a missing elderly man with his family. An 84-year-old man who experienced confusion and memory loss while driving was last heard from by his family shortly before his phone died. The family reported him missing to the NYPD 47th Precinct at around noon. NYPD officers were able to determine that the man’s last known location was in the vicinity of the World Trade Center and notified the PAPD WTC Command, providing a description of the man and his vehicle. Port Authority police officers began canvassing the World Trade Center and expanding the search to the waterfront and Staten Island Ferry Terminal areas.

What began as a four-team showdown between the FDNY, NYPD, U.S. Coast Guard and a civilian team has grown into a 16-team tournament bringing together first responder, military and government teams from across the East Coast. In just three years, the Heroes Cup has raised nearly $500,000 in support of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. This year’s Heroes Cup Hockey Tournament, benefiting Tunnel to Towers, will take place Saturday, October 17, at Ice Vault Arena in Wayne, New Jersey, beginning at 11 a.m.

Artist Maryanne Mezzacappa, wife of fallen PAPD hero Police Officer Anthony Mezzacappa, has had two paintings, The Red Room and Tropical Burst, accepted for exhibition in two juried art shows.