Paul Bass Photo
Holly Wasilewski is used to organizing tribute dinners at Anthony’s Ocean View. Thursday night she was the guest of honor, as friends from law enforcement and the community filled the hall to honor New Haven’s most beloved community cop.
Or former community cop. Wasilewski retired from the police force last month after almost 21 years. She’s already missed. (Click here to read a story about her remarkable career.)
Perhaps no one will miss her more than Officer Elsa Berrios (pictured), who met Wasilewski in the police academy and has been her best friend ever since. Berrios organized Thursday night’s bash and offered the climactic toast.
Wasilewski received testimonials and plaques from, among others, Wanda Jofre and Peggy Bailey of Connecticut Mental Health Center, with whom she served on a crisis intervention team …
… police union President Craig Miller (pictured); and Police Chief Dean Esserman and Assistant Chiefs Anthony Campbell (the evening’s emcee), Luiz Casanova, Al Vazquez, and Archie Generoso.
Mayor Toni Harp read a proclamation describing Wasilewski as a “soft-hearted and no-nonsense cop … who gave herself to everyone in the neighborhood. … Thanks for taking good care of us.” Harp spoke of a longtime Hill neighborhood fixture nicknamed Bicycle Ray, a character people found difficult to get along with. The day Wasilewski became a captain and was promoted out of her longtime role as top cop in the Hill, Harp recalled, “Bicycle Ray came to my office and had a fit. He did not want to lose his Holly.” Wasilewski knew Bicycle Ray, the way she knew most of the characters in the Hill. She saw the good in him and earned his trust, as she did with countless others. “You are an authentic person,” Harp said. “You took the word ‘serve’ to heart.”
“This was the greatest job in the world,” Wasilewski told the crowd, which gave her a standing ovation.