Mary Ann Collura, 43, was a longtime Fair Lawn, New Jersey police officer and the first woman to serve in that department. Over an 18-year career she was known as a certified firearms instructor, a delegate to the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association, and the organizer of a Halloween safety program that handed out glow sticks to children.

On the evening of April 17, 2003, Collura responded to assist Clifton police with a vehicle pursuit that ended when the suspect’s car crashed on a church lawn in Fair Lawn. As Collura and Clifton officer Steven Farrell tried to apprehend the driver, the suspect, identified as Omar Marti, produced a handgun and opened fire. Collura was fatally wounded; Farrell was seriously injured. Marti stole Collura’s patrol car and fled. The manhunt ended three days later in Florida when Marti was killed in a shootout with Hernando County and Sumter County deputies after attempting to take his own life.