Detective Benjamin Marconi

Detective Benjamin Edward Marconi San Antonio Police Department, Texas

End of Watch: Sunday, November 20, 2016 BFTF Representatives That Attended Funeral: Katherine Willox PO 6254 5th Pct Eilleen Emiddio PO 5535 5th Pct Kate and Eileen each provided us with their own synopsis of the trip: Kate: Detective Ben Marconi's funeral was held at Community Bible Church, large enough to fit all who attended. Uniformed officers lined up outside and Det. Marconi arrived by horse drawn carriage. Then we all proceeded inside for the funeral mass and ceremony. Friends and family spoke about Ben Marconi; his office was always open lending an ear to anyone who needed it. A candy jar was always full to satisfy a sweet tooth. He was loved by all and hearing these stories and being a part of the ceremony was truly a sad but amazing experience. I didn't know Ben Marconi but I certainly felt a brotherly connection. Observing the Sea of Blue with a variety of members from all of Texas and the rest of country sitting in the stands of this huge church made me feel extremely proud to be a member of the law enforcement family. I'm glad I was able to be a part of that. The San Antonio Police Deptartment welcomed us, along with the other Brotherhood For The Fallen members and outside agencies to "break bread" with them after the service. Eileen and I met with members from Chicago, Illinois, the NYPD, Aurora, CO and Fort Worth, TX Brotherhood chapters. That evening, members of the San Antonio community held a vigil walk from the Alamo to San Antonio police headquarters, where a memorial for Det. Marconi stood. We held lit candles and walked through the streets of this beautiful city. We ended the march by shaking the hands of some high-ranking members of the department. The words "I'm sorry for your loss" just didn't feel like enough for SAPD's tragic loss. Eileen and I left the memorial with BFTF members from NYPD and went to a restaurant in the area. With only a handful of people there, Det. Ben Marconi's sister, Debbie, arrived. During a sorrowful embrace, I mentioned I was a member of the Suffolk County Police Dept. in New York, to which her hug became tighter. I felt her sincere appreciation for our presence in support of her brother. We all toasted in memory of Ben. Due to holiday travel we were only able to be there for a very short amount of time, missed the wake and passed our donation on to a member of SAPD that grew up with Det. Marconi's son. I left San Antonio feeling a bit somber but ever more proud to be able to represent our SCPD brotherhood. Eileen: Kate and I had a very rewarding experience in San Antonio, Texas and we were both proud to represent both the SCPD and the Brotherhood at the funeral of Det. Marconi. Due to the crazy travel weekend (Thanksgiving) we were not able to fly out until 9PM on Sunday night. We landed in Austin, Texas at 1AM, got the rental car and drove an hour and a half to San Antonio. We got settled and hit the sack at 3:30 AM and were up at 7 AM for the service. (Thank God for coffee!) In the lobby of the hotel we meet other officers from the Brotherhood chapters. Jimmy Johnson and the others did an incredible job with all of our travel plans as well as setting up a mass text with all of the other departments so that we all meet up and stayed together. On one hand I was a bit shocked and disheartened that besides the 5 departments present from the Brotherhood, I did not see any other out of state police officers at the service, even from the neighboring states. It is always tragic when a fellow cop is killed in the line of duty but Ben Marconi was randomly murdered because he was a cop! I somewhat expected to see more of a police presence then we did from around the country. It was an amazing feeling to be surrounded by so many people that instantly felt like family and you know would do anything for you. It was especially interesting to meet so many Mexican American police officers who work on the boarder. They were so intrigued to meet us! A girl from the group (NYPD) happened to be Colombian and she was interviewed by Telemundo. Kate and I were also on the local news while we were at the memorial in front of SAPD headquarters. The Brother For The Fallen is an great organization and it would be amazing to see more departments join. Especially with how our society is changing, I feel this organization helps to tie us all together. Thank you, Kate and Eileen, for representing us so well. We are proud to have you as members of the Brotherhood For The Fallen, Suffolk County, NY.