Yet again, a show of grief for a fallen police officer

This time it was Sgt. Timothy Simpson's name that was scrawled onto a police cruiser, Car 24A, parked in front of the Northeast funeral home that has hosted all too many police viewings in recent months.

The artwork that was placed on the windshield of the car included a montage not just of Simpson, who was struck and killed by William Foster, 41, at Allegheny and Aramingo avenues last Monday, but also of the four other police officers recently killed in the line of duty.

Their pictures were pasted on a portrait of billowy clouds and a blue sky.

Meanwhile, yet another crowd of mourners gathered at the John F. Givnish Funeral Home, on Academy Road, last night to offer their condolences to the wife and three children of the fallen cop.

Clusters of people, from uniformed cops to civilians, stood in the bitter cold clutching cups of hot chocolate and having hushed conversations. Some of them have been there before - this service yet another agonizing episode in a series of recent police deaths in the city.

"We've been doing this for a while," said Bill Staveckas, a member of the Centurions Motorcycle Club, who lives near the scene of the fatal crash.

"It's sickening. They get paid to do a job - doesn't mean they should pay with their life."

Those in law enforcement who worked with the 20-year veteran described him as a "friendly guy" but an "aggressive cop."

"He had a good outlook on life," said Andrew Adams, a detective in the Philadelphia Police Department, who was friendly with both Simpson and his brother, Terry, a cop on the SWAT team.

"It's just very sad," he said, reminiscing about cases he worked on with Simpson.

Simpson is the fifth Philadelphia police officer killed in the line of duty in just over a year, and the second cop to die as a result of an auto accident.

On Sept. 5, Officer Isabel Nazario, 40, died when her patrol car was struck in Mantua by a stolen SUV allegedly driven by 16-year-old Andre Butler, who was charged with third-degree murder.

On Sept. 23, Sgt. Patrick McDonald, 30, of Highway Patrol, was shot at close range as he lay on the ground in North Philadelphia, allegedly by Daniel Giddings, 27.

Today's viewing will be held from 7 to 10 a.m. at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul, 18th Street near the Parkway.

Cardinal Justin Rigali will preside over the Funeral Mass at 11:30 a.m.

Interment will follow in Resurrection Cemetery, Bensalem. *