Buffalo Police Officer Patricia A. “Patty” Parete, 48, died of medical complications resulting from a gunshot wound she sustained on December 5, 2006. She died Saturday morning shortly after 2:00 a.m.

Parete’s injury resulted from her response to a fight in progress call at a local Mini-Mart convenience store near Elmwood Avenue and Chippewa Street. As she and her partner, Officer Carl Andolina, confronted one of the teenaged subjects, the subject produced a weapon and shot both officers in the face. Parete sustained a spinal injury that paralyzed her from the neck down. Officer Andolina recovered from his gunshot wounds and returned to full duty.

The Buffalo community held numerous benefits and fund raising activities on her behalf enabling the community to build her a new wheelchair-accessible home following her release from the rehabilitation center.

Buffalo Police Lt. James Panus, PBA President advised that he had recently visited Officer Parete and found her in good spirits. Despite being angered by the events that led to her injury, she still was full of spirit and hope for a full recovery and return to active duty. Her assailant, Varner Harris, is serving 30 years in prison.

Officer Patricia A. Parete, gone but never forgotten. EOW: Saturday, February 2, 2013.

Senator Kennedy Leads State Senate in Honoring Fallen Buffalo Police Officer Patricia Parete

Officer Parete passed away Saturday after being shot in the line of duty in 2006.

WNY Senate Delegation cosponsors resolution honoring the life, contributions and bravery of Officer Patricia Parete.

ALBANY, N.Y. – The New York State Senate today honored Buffalo Police Officer Patricia Parete, who passed away Saturday after being shot in the line of duty in 2006. Senator Tim Kennedy, D-Buffalo, sponsored the resolution recognizing the life, contributions and bravery of Officer Parete. The entire Western New York Senate Delegation joined Kennedy to cosponsor the resolution adopted in her memory.

Officer Parete and her partner Carl Andolina were shot on December 5, 2006 when they responded to a call on W. Chippewa Street and Whitney Place. Officer Parete was shot twice – the second bullet severely injured her spinal cord and left Parete paralyzed from the neck down. Following a long and brave battle after suffering her injuries in the line of duty, Officer Parete passed away early Saturday morning.

“The Buffalo Police and the entire Western New York community lost a friend, a brave public servant and a source of inspiration when Officer Patty Parete passed away last week,” said Senator Kennedy.

“In the days since Officer Parete passed,” Kennedy added, “she has been remembered as a fighter who relied on sharp instincts, strong work ethic and immense courage to keep our streets safe. We saw that fight over the course of the last six years as she bravely fought against the injuries she suffered in the line of duty. As we remember the life and service of Patty Parete, we can be assured of one thing for certain: her bravery, her courage and her fight made Buffalo and Western New York a safer place to live and work.”

In his remarks on the Senate floor, Senator Kennedy called Parete’s tragic death a sad and sobering reminder of the dangers men and women in law enforcement face every day.

“Each day, the brave men and women who serve in law enforcement leave their entire worlds behind to protect our community. They leave their homes, they leave their families, and they leave their loved ones. They do so knowing that at any moment, danger – like the danger Patty and her partner Carl encountered on that tragic December night in 2006 – can be waiting for them around any corner,” Kennedy said. “The Buffalo Police Department is in mourning today, but they’re not alone. We need to do all we can to assure them that – just as they stand up for us each and every day – today, we stand by them in this moment of mourning.”

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Senator Timothy M. Kennedy represents the New York State Senate’s 63rd District, which is comprised of the towns of Cheektowaga, the city of Lackawanna and nearly all of the city of Buffalo. More information is available at http://kennedy.nysenate.gov.