Officer's Sacrifice Remembered 43 Years Later

Bethlehem police officers will wear a black mourning band on their badges and the flag at the Bethlehem Police Memorial at the north end of the Philip J. Fahy Bridge will fly at half-staff today to mark a grim anniversary.

On this day 43 years ago, the man for whom the bridge was named – Bethlehem Patrolman Philip J. Fahy – was shot and killed at the end of a high-speed chase through the streets of the city.

The also pays tribute to Fahy here in its blog, republishing the original Morning Call story about the incident.

Fahy was shot in the chest at close range by a 12-gauge shotgun fired by Bebley C. Wells Jr. along William Street after the chase came to a stop. Wells, in turn, was shot and wounded by Fahy’s partner, Patrolman Merle Getz.

Fahy, 26, a Navy veteran who had been with the department for three years, was survived by a wife, Susan, who was pregnant with a daughter at the time. Wells was convicted of murder and died in prison in 2004.