By Matthew Speiser, The Jersey Journal
Police sirens lit up the sky over the Hackensack River tonight as police gathered to honor Officers Shawn Carson and Robert Nguyen, who died tragically Christmas night 2005 on the bridge that is now named in their honor.
“These were two of the nicest guys in the world, they would have given you the shirt right off their back,” said Kevin O’Connell, a retired Jersey City lieutenant who was Carson and Nguyen’s sergeant at the time.
“Everybody loved these guys and we will never forget them.”
Members of the Emergency Service Unit (ESU), Carson and Nguyen had been summoned to the Lincoln Highway Bridge between Kearny and Jersey City on Dec. 25, 2005 to set flares to regulate traffic after a wooden arm to block traffic had broken.
It had been a foggy night, and Carson and Nguyen were unaware the center portion of the drawbridge had been raised when they started to drive back to Jersey City and their truck plunged into the waters.
“We looked down over the bridge and we saw the salt and dirt and everything from the bottom of the river, a big cloud coming up, and we realized that was where the truck had landed,” recalls ESU Officer Eric Tavares, who along with officer Alex Rivera, were the first responders on the bridge that night.
“I looked at Alex and I said ‘They’re dead'”, said Tavares, who had been close friends with Nguyen.
Carson had been a veteran of the ESU, who coached track and field in his spare time. Nguyen was relatively new to the force, but was top of his class at the police academy. Carson was 40 years old, Nguyen 30.
The bridge was renamed the “Shawn Carson and Robert Nguyen Memorial Bridge” in 2007.
Tonight, a long procession of police cars and trucks began closing off the eastbound side of the Lincoln Highway bridge at around 7:50 p.m., and a formation of officers assembled near the railing of the bridge by 8 p.m.
An officer could be heard on a police radio at the site of the memorial, telling officers across all of Jersey City to activate their headlights and exit their vehicles at 8:20 p.m., which represented the time Nguyen and Carson died.
They held a moment of silence and saluted the two officers.
Shortly before 8:20 p.m., officers dropped a wreath over the side of the bridge in honor of Nguyen and Carson.
“The tragic part is that they were here on Christmas night working for people who wanted to have off for their family,” said ESU Lt. Vincent Glenn, who worked closely with Nguyen and Carson.
“They were doing the job they loved, helping their community. Its just a reminder that police officers can die even when there is no violence.”
