Phillies honor fallen Temple University police officer

The Phillies honored fallen Temple University Police Sgt. Christopher Fitzgerald and his family at Friday’s home opener with a pregame acknowledgement and special jerseys with the officer’s badge number on the back.

In video shown on NBC10, Fitzgerald’s family was invited onto the field to a standing ovation from the crowd and then posed for pictures with outfielders Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos. Fitzgerald’s children were invited to take swings in the team’s indoor batting cage.

The 31-year-old Fitzgerald was a big Phillies fan and had the “P” logo tattooed on his right bicep.

“Just to see my kids excited and happy is something that warms my heart, and I know their father would want to see them happy,” Marissa Fitzgerald, the sergeant’s widow, told NBC10.

Schwarber, whose father is a retired police chief in Ohio, handwrote a personal letter to the Fitzgerald family, the late sergeant’s father, Joel Fitzgerald, told NBC10.

“I don’t know even how to put it into words how much we appreciate the fact that he took the time to acknowledge Christopher’s sacrifice in his own penmanship and in his own way,” said Joel Fitzgerald, who is a former Philadelphia police officer.

“Hopefully it’s a memory that they’ll have for the rest of their lives,” Schwarber told NBC10.

Nick Castellanos, speaking to The Inquirer, called the occasion “humbling.”

“It kind of brings you back down to earth on what’s important, on what really means something,” Castellanos said.

Last week, Philadelphia City Council unanimously approved a resolution to rename the 1700 block of West Montgomery Avenue after Fitzgerald. That’s where the officer, who was posthumously promoted to sergeant, was fatally shot on Feb. 18.

Staff writer Alex Coffey contributed to this article.