The seat at the end of the first counter at Pagliaro’s restaurant became a memorial Wednesday morning.
It’s where Sgt. Orville Smith sat each morning for his bacon on toast sandwich and where he sat again each afternoon for his cheeseburger, fries and diet coke.
Smith, a veteran Shelton police officer, died Wednesday morning, of complications from his injuries sustained after an alleged drunk driver hit him as he directed traffic on Route 110.
The staff at Pagliaro’s wrote a personal note on a napkin, placed a coffee mug and three Equal sugar packets — Smith’s daily drink — at the seat, and declared the seat off limits.
“He just liked the people here,” said waitress Lynda Pistey. “This was his home.”
“Nobody can replace him,” Pagliaro’s owner Mike Xenidis said.
Smith, 64, was recalled fondly Wednesday by friends and family throughout the city, who were shocked to find out about his death.
‘That Was Smitty’
Those who knew him — and almost everyone in Shelton did, it seems — knew him as “Smitty,” the hardworking, quintessential “old fashioned” cop.
The daily diner fare wasn’t his only ritual. Smith was a creature of habit — a throw back, perhaps, to his days in the military as a U.S. Marine.
“Like my father, he was a Marine,” Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti said. “They were different, those guys, that generation. He always commanded a level of respect — and he didn’t have to say anything.”
Lauretti figured he was in high school when Smith first became a cop. When Lauretti was elected in 1991, it was strange to be Smith’s authority figure.
“I was the new kid on the block. But he made it easy,” Lauretti said, once again attributing Smith’s demeanor to his days in the Marine Corps.
Smith served as a combat engineer in Vietnam, clearing mines, said Police Chief Joel Hurliman.
“You need a certain mentality to do that kind of work,” Hurliman said. “He missed the Marine Corps. If you saw his pickup truck, there was a lot of Marine Corp symbols on it.”
After returning from the military, Smith became a Shelton police officer and worked his way to sergeant. He ran the day shift at the department and was the most experienced officer on the job, with 39 years under his belt.
He was also described as “fun loving” and good-hearted. His work ethic was second to none.
Smith worked several jobs in addition to his role as the day-shift sergeant for the police department.
He plowed parking lots in the winter, said long-time friend Andre Cayer of Shelton.
He had a sign-making company on the side too, Cayer said.
And he was always taking extra private duty shifts at community events or road work scenes.
“That was Smitty,” Pistey said, when asked what drove him to work so much.
‘He Loved Being A Cop’
Co-workers said Smith took several of the extra private duty jobs just to be able to mingle with people from the community.
“He loved being a cop. Wearing a uniform and badge, and getting out in the community,” Captain Michael Madden said. “He wanted to be in the center of everything.”
Smith was working one of his private duty gigs on July 3, when a pick-up truck driven by Bruce Knapik, 63, swerved on Route 110 and slammed into Smith and his police cruiser.
Knapik was charged with driving under the influence.
The accident is still under investigation, and police said other charges could be forthcoming. A person at the Medical Examiner’s Office said an autopsy would probably happen Thursday.
Surreal
At first, it appeared Smith would be OK.
“He was clearly banged up,” Madden said, but he was up and joking with friends who came to visit him in the Intensive Care Unit at Bridgeport Hospital.
But Tuesday night, he took a turn for the worse, said Detective Ben Trabka.
Police said Smith died of complication from internal injuries due to the crash. He had suffered a broken pelvis and needed stitches to his leg, arm and fingers, Trabka said.
It’s not clear yet exactly what caused his death.
The department is “shocked, and somber” Madden said.
“Anytime you get that call, about an officer hurt, it’s hard,” Madden said. “ Then he makes it through that first day, and day two and into three. And that makes it harder.”
Madden said roll call on Wednesday morning was completely silent, as Smith’s fellow officers took in the news.
Madden said it hit him when he realized he would see Smith’s name on the fallen police officer memorial in Washington D.C. next time he visits.
“It’s just surreal,” Madden said.
The community was just as taken back by the news.
“Smitty bounced back, and that’s what we expected,” Pistey, the waitress at Pagliaro’s said. “It’s unbelievable.”
Dangerous Job
Madden said the incident is a cold reminder of the dangers of law enforcement.
“Every time you put the gun and badge on, you’re aware of the dangers,” Madden said.
Smith is the second Shelton police officer to die in the line of duty.
The other was William Rich, a patrolman who died in 1964 after he had a heart attack following a foot pursuit of an escaped prisoner.
The prisoner had escaped while being booked at the police station. Rich caught him and brought him back to the station. Shortly after, he collapsed.
This year, 89 police officers across the country have died from injuries sustained on the job, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
Of those, half the deaths were caused by traffic incidents.
“Unfortunately accidents, and that’s what this is, it’s one of the leading causes of line-of-duty deaths,” Chief Hurliman said.
Mourning
Wednesday, the department hung black bunting on the front entrance, and placed the flags at half staff in honor of Smith.
Officers wore black ribbons over their badges.
A department chaplain was on hand to talk with officers during roll call, Hurliman said.
At the White Hills Fire Co., where Smith was a volunteer and former captain, a black wreath was placed outside beside the department’s memorial for fallen firefighters.
“It’s pretty sad here,” Hurliman said. “It’s also kind of ironic. One thing Smith did extraordinarily well was funeral details.”
As the day shift sergeant, Smith was in charge of organizing memorials for fire fighters or retired officers who had passed away.
The department has been recalling fond memories of Smith, some Hurliman said would never make it to print.
One example that did come to light was the time Smith fell asleep in his cruiser during an overnight shift some 30 years ago.
It snowed during the short nap, and when he woke up the windshield was covered.
“He got on the radio screaming to headquarters, screaming he’s blind because he can’t see out,” Trabka recalled. “That’s a classic Smitty story. Sometimes Smitty would just say something before he saw something true. He would just speak, and that’s what made him Smitty.”
Smith, who grew up in Ansonia and lived in Shelton most of his life, had lived in Oxford with his wife Nancy Smith.
Editor’s Note: The Valley Independent Sentinel will post memorial service information when it becomes available.
