A special fundraiser planned in Brockport on Friday, November 21, will help to support the family of Rochester Police Department Officer Daryl Pierson, who was killed in the line of duty September 3, 2014.
Four Brockport-area police wives are organizing the event, a “Night of Giving: Brockport for Pierson” which will be held from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Taproom at Bill Gray’s Restaurant, 4647 South Lake Road, Brockport.
Tamara Barrus, Lisa Ireland, Danielle Mesiti, and Caurie Putnam-Ferguson call themselves, “Police Wives for Pierson.”
“I was only a police wife for four days when Officer Daryl Pierson was killed in the line of duty in Rochester,” says Caurie Putnam-Ferguson. Her husband, Eric, is an officer in the Rochester Police Department.
Putnam-Ferguson says Mesiti, Ireland and Barrus are all friends who were at her wedding and were among the first to reach out and make sure she and her husband were OK following the death of Officer Pierson.
“Having each other as support was so critical,” she says. “Within 24 hours we had decided we would do something for Daryl’s widow, Amy Pierson.” Amy was left with two very young children – Christian and Charity.
Bill Gray’s will donate 15 percent of all proceeds from food and drink orders during the “Night of Giving” event to Daryl’s widow and children. Purchasers need to identify themselves as a fundraiser attendee, organizers say.
Putnam-Ferguson says she comes from multi-generation police family with many uncles and cousins in the New York Police Department.
In 1964, her grandmother’s cousin, Detective James Donegan, NYPD, was killed in the line of duty responding to a domestic violence call.
The 50th anniversary of his murder was recently observed and Putnam-Ferguson says she and her family are still affected by the loss.
“It shows how deep and penetrating losing a police officer is to a family,” she observes. “Amy Pierson and her children have a long road ahead of them and this fundraiser is just one little way to support them on this horrible journey.”
Danielle Mesiti’s husband, Stephen, is a sergeant with the Brockport Police Department.
She, too, comes from a law enforcement family. “I grew up in a service-minded family,” she says. “It’s a huge sacrifice for families.”
Law enforcement officers must put their duty first on a daily basis, Mesiti notes. “They are missing birthdays, family dinners, helping get the kids to bed.”
Mesiti describes the law enforcement community as a remarkable group of people. “All of our hearts break for Amy,” she says. “We hope she feels the love and support coming from everybody. We really mean it from the bottom of our hearts.”
Tamara Barrus’ husband, Tyler, is retired from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. She says the fundraiser at Bill Gray’s is a way for residents on the west side of the city to reach out and help.
“Everybody wants to do something to help,” she says and explains that wives of police officers are always aware that their husband’s lives are in danger on a daily basis.
“You can’t let it over-run your life,” she says. “You don’t know what you would have done (if you had been Amy Pierson). I would not want to be in her shoes.”
Lisa Ireland’s husband is a New York State Trooper who is sometimes called out of town on assignments.
“I know I’m a single phone call away from that being me,” she says of Amy Pierson. “You can’t live with it in the forefront of your mind, but it is always in the back of your mind. It never goes away.”
She says wives of police officers have a special bond. “We are a sisterhood. There is a bond between us that will hold forever. We will do what we can to support (Amy) and her family,” Ireland says.
She thanks Bill Gray’s for their efforts in making the fundraiser possible.
“We want to fill that place,” she says of the Taproom.
“Night of Giving: Brockport for Pierson,” will also include raffles and music. A photo booth will be provided by Encore Events.
