Philadelphia Police Officer James “Hawk” Healey

This is truly sad!! I was away while this occurred. I saw this story when it first came out on Novemeber 10th, but since I was under the weather; put it to the side. However, this needs to be covered ( I suppose better late than never) Godspeed Officer…may you rest in peace!!

Final respects for the officer

By William Kenny Times Staff Writer
http://www.northeasttimes.com/index.html

It didn’t take very long into Tom Healey’s eulogy for his brother, Jim, to figure out what sustained the Healey family for generations through an often-tumultuous life in the Philadelphia Police Department.
Through his grief for his lost sibling, Tom Healey showed some legendary humor.

"I feel like I won the Oscar," the former city police captain jested as he approached the pulpit to give Officer Jim Healey his due.

The throng of family and friends who had congregated at Christ the King Church in Morrell Park certainly fit the bill of Hollywood’s biggest awards night.

Thousands lined up on the morning of Nov. 2 to pay their respects to the 15th district cop who was a big presence professionally as the foot-beat officer at Cottman and Frankford avenues, and a big presence personally among his co-workers and the community.

Jim Healey was 47. Most folks knew him as "Hawk."

"Hawk said he didn’t think he had many friends," Tom Healey recalled.

The long line that stretched from the church onto the sidewalk and to the end of the block debunked that thought. It was so big that Tom Healey exited the church and greeted everyone personally, for fear that the 11 a.m. funeral Mass wouldn’t get started on time.

"That whole line I went through and I got only three wallets," he joked.

On Oct. 28, while off duty, Jim Healey took his own life after crashing his car into a vehicle occupied by three people on Interstate 95. The accident happened at about 9:15 p.m. on the southbound side of the highway, near Callowhill Street.

The other car had broken down and was parked on the shoulder. All three passengers suffered injuries, but none was life-threatening, a Philadelphia police spokesman said.

However, the impact was hard and the crash looked bad, those close to Jim Healey have said. When on-duty Highway Patrol officers arrived at the scene, they directed Healey — who was alone — into a police car for safety reasons, a police spokesman said. Healey shot himself in the head while seated inside the car.
Tom Healey and the current commanding officer in the 15th district, Capt. Deborah Kelly, have both speculated that Jim Healey feared he had killed someone and couldn’t bear the thought.

The Philadelphia Police Department continues to investigate the crash.

During the eulogy, Tom Healey told a few heart-touching and smile-cracking stories about his brother, mostly about their rough-and-tumble days growing up in Olney, sons of a strict father who spent 32 years in the PPD.

Tom Healey retired in 2001 after 24 years with the police department. His last assignment was as commander of the 15th district.

Jim Healey had 24 years on the job, as well. He got his nickname "Hawk" much, much earlier, however. Playing for the 95-pound Olney Eagles football team, he idolized receiver Ben Hawkins, then with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Healey wore Hawkins’ No. 18 and even wore his chin strap just like his hero, who was known for letting it dangle, unfastened, from his helmet during the game. One day, Jim Healey Sr. called his son "Hawk" and it stuck.

The younger Healey didn’t stay at that weight for long, however.

"He went from ninety-five pounds to the big, giant guy you (all) know. . . . I used to call him a mutant," Tom Healey told the laughing funeral congregation in polished stand-up comedy style.

"He had legs up to his sternum and teeth that you could eat through a chain-link fence with. . . . Between junior and senior high school, the top half of his body grew about eight inches and he wasn’t a mutant anymore."

Tom Healey thanked the attendees for the large turnout. It’s been a tough time for the family. Tom and Jim Healey lost their sister a mere 15 months ago.

"Fifteen months ago we called on you folks when my sister passed away," Tom Healey said. "And you’re back again. Sometimes it’s nice to have the police department as an extended family of sixty-five hundred."


••Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com