Officer Joseph A. Pocchio was 29 and on duty with the Essex County Park Police Department when he was killed during a traffic stop in Branch Brook Park, Newark, New Jersey. On Saturday, August 4, 1979, Pocchio stopped a speeding vehicle. The car contained three people who had just robbed a nearby candy store. While Pocchio was speaking with the 16-year-old driver from his patrol car, a 34-year-old passenger exited the vehicle, approached the patrol car and opened fire, fatally wounding the officer.

The three suspects fled but were captured the next day in New York City. The gunman was convicted of murder and received a sentence of life plus ten years. Pocchio was a United States Marine Corps veteran who died in the line of duty.