Mural honoring late Worcester Police Officer defaced

WORCESTER, Mass — A mural honoring late Worcester Police Officer Manny Familia was recently defaced. It comes nearly two years after his death in the line of duty.

Worcester Police Officer Manny Familia had a smile that shined so bright it stands out on an 11-foot tall, 20 feet wide mural. To this day, his grin captures the heart of his brother Eric Familia.

“He was always the life of the party, always having fun,” says Eric Familia.

“Sometimes when I am driving around, it’s like ‘hey what’s up Manny, how are you doing?’” says his cousin Alex Maracallo.

The end of the watch came for Officer Familia on June 4, 2021. He died trying to rescue a teenager drowning in Worcester’s Green Hill Park Pond.

“If the situation was to arise again, he wouldn’t hesitate again to go into that water,” says Maracallo.

Shortly after his passing, local artist Ferdinand Nazario honored him with a mural on the side of Gala Foods on Chandler Street.

“I did it because I heard so many good things about him and I never met him before. I had a family member that got into a really bad car accident, and he was the first person on the scene to help my cousin,” says Nazario.

It took three days for Nazario to finish the mural and probably just seconds for someone to deface it late last month. Ferdinand didn’t waste any time repairing the damage.

“I wasn’t upset at all because this is going to be up here for a while, it is a commitment that I have to follow through on,” says Nazario.

It’s a commitment Officer Familia’s family appreciates. They say the mural helps them through the ongoing grief nearly two years after his death.

“It makes me feel happy that this community has embraced him, our family. He is kind of the face of this city,” says Familia.

And if Officer Familia was alive to see it?

“He would pass by it and just say ‘that’s me, that’s a good-looking guy right there’ but he would also be humble about it,” says Maracallo.

Officer Familia committed his life to serve Worcester and in death, he still continues to look over the city he grew up in.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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