Worcester police, firefighters honor fallen officers during annual charity basketball game

WORCESTER — When Worcester police and fire weren’t duking it out on the hardwood during a benefit basketball game for Friendly House, a halftime ceremony pulled at the heartstrings while honoring Enmanuel “Manny” Familia and Derrick S. Leto, two fallen heroes of the Worcester Police Department.

Officer Familia died June 4, 2021, at Green Hill Pond while trying to rescue Troy A. Love, 14, of Verona, Virginia, who also lost his life. Agustin Familia and Eric Familia, the officer’s father and brother, respectively, participated in the ceremony.

A member of the Worcester Police Department for 18 years, Sergeant Leto, a diversity officer in the department, died off-duty on March 17, 2023. Nichole Leto and Damon Leto, the sergeant’s wife and son, also participated in the ceremony.

Officer Casey K. Onuigbo, the diversity and inclusion officer for the department, and firefighter Rohan Brewster co-organized the combination charity basketball game/memorial ceremony.

“Anything to get involved in the community and the youths,” Onuigbo said. “We’re doing this to raise money for the youth and the public, to make sure they can come and enjoy Friendly House and do things on their off time.”

“I grew up off of Eastern Ave. So we used to come to Friendly House. My buddy Derrick (Leto), he was the police liaison before this. We went to high school together. And we did it together. Always helping out the kids and remember Derrick.”

During halftime, Steven Green, who organizes youth recreation programs at Friendly House, stood facing the crowd with a microphone in one hand and a portable speaker in the other.

“The biggest thing is, I want to honor two people,” Green said, calling members of Familia's and Leto’s families to center court.

Green has helped organize the annual Friendly House benefit basketball game, and up until 2023, he did so with Leto’s help.

“This was emotional. Without (Leto), this never would have happened,” Green added. “We’re going to try to make this bigger and get some of the other towns involved – Shrewsbury, Auburn. It’s all for the kids, to help our little ones in the community.”

A member of the Worcester Police Department for five years, Familia, 38, represented the Worcester police by participating in various charities including the Tarantino 5K, the WPD Basketball Team, the Tarantino Softball Tournament, and the United Way and Boys and Girls Club Dodgeball Tournament. He was also an basketball coach for St. Peter’s Church.

A Millbury resident, Leto, 42, frequently volunteered at institutions including the Second Baptist Church of Worcester and the Friendly House. He was also the liaison to the Police Department's clergy partnership program and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Friendly House has been a mainstay of the Grafton Hill neighborhood for many years. The agency offers a variety of social, educational and recreational services, ranging from day care to shelter services for the homeless.

Alyssa Corazzin, director of youth programs at Friendly House, explained that this was an event for the community to embrace.

“A lot of the officers and firefighters grew up here in this neighborhood, and some of them didn’t,” Corazzin said. “Both all of them recognize how important this case is to fundraise for our programs. We’re supporting a lot of families with the program that we run and we try to make our programming as affordable and accessible to our families. So it’s really awesome to have the firefighters and the officers take time out of their schedules and bring their families here today.”

A group of children sat on the edge of the court with a construction paper sign that read “Let’s Go Worcester Firefighters,” and at one point, the ball bounced straight into the sign, crumpling the paper and getting a surprised laugh from the girl who held it.

Although the Police Department wiped the floor with the Fire Department in a 53-41 win, Onuigbo said, “It’s all fun and games. I’m glad that everybody’s here to enjoy good, friendly basketball game at the Friendly House.”

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester police, firefighters honor fallen officers at Friendly House