David L. Cohen gets Community Hero Award

David L. Cohen choked back emotion Tuesday night as he recalled the shooting of two police officers during a routine traffic stop in 1993, when he was chief of staff under Mayor Ed Rendell.

Officer Robert Hayes died from his wounds. Officer John Marynowitz survived, but was permanently disabled.

The remembrances by Cohen, now executive vice president of Comcast Corp., came as he was honored with the Community Hero Award at the first Heroes Among Us event.

Acknowledging the heavy police presence in the audience of more than 100, Cohen suggested that many in the room were more worthy of the award than he.

"Let's be honest. I'm no hero," he said.

Cohen is a fund-raising powerhouse, however, and his selection for the award generated $107,000 in donations to benefit the survivors of fallen Philadelphia police officers.

"I wanted to raise a lot of money," said Ben Baskin, the event founder and manager of the Pyramid Club, site of the award ceremony.

Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey reached out to Cohen to be the first honoree, and "when Cohen accepted, it changed everything," Baskin said.

The Survivor's Fund, run by the Fraternal Order of Police, pays for an annual luncheon to honor the families of fallen officers. It is part of a wide range of assistance offered by the police union to the families.

"It provides peace of mind," said Judy Cassidy, 62, widow of slain Officer Chuck Cassidy.

She, too, was overcome with emotion as she highlighted what the union does for officers' families, from paying for funerals to providing meals on holidays.

Chuck Cassidy, 54, was killed during a robbery of a Dunkin' Donuts in West Oak Lane on Halloween 2007.

He had been on his way to a plaque dedication honoring two slain officers.

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