Sergeant Alfred William Terrinoni - Coral Gables Police Dept. - True Life Hero

Alfred William Terrinoni
- Oct. 11, 1980 -

(275)

Pass your cursor over pic to see larger version! Click pic for full version!

Coral Gables Police Dept. Patch

Resided:	FL, USA
Born:	Jun. 05, 1942
Fallen:	Oct. 11, 1980
Race/Sex:	Caucasian Male / 38 yrs. of age
	Agency
Dept:	Coral Gables Police Dept. Coral Gables, FL USA
County:	Dade
Dept. Type:	Municipal/Police
Hero's Rank:	Sergeant
Sworn Date:	8/1963
FBI Class:	Homicide - Gun
Weapon Class:	Firearm
On The Job:	16 years

Bio: Alfred William Terrinoni was born on June 5, 1942, in Scranton, PA, to Angelo and Anna Porcaro Terrinoni. He and his two brothers, Vincent and Robert, moved with the family to Hialeah when Al was 6.

Terrinoni graduated from Hialeah High School in 1960 and at 6'2" and 225 lbs. was a star tight end on the football team. He and fellow Hialeah player Tony Saldino were the first two Hialeah graduates to receive full football scholarships to the U. of Miami. Al injured his knee in spring practice of his freshman year ending his football career. The star of the U.M. team at that time was quarterback George Mira and the head coach was Andy Gustafason.

Al dropped out of the U.M. in 1961 after his injury and worked as a construction laborer and as an electroplater for companies in Hialeah and Miami. He also worked for Airko (air conditioning).

Terrinoni joined the Coral Gables Police Department on August 26, 1963, at the age of 21. He worked in the uniformed patrol division for his entire 16-year career and was promoted to sergeant in 1972. As a result of his nine years as a patrolman, Sgt. Terrinoni prided himself in being sensitive to the problems of the rank and file officer.

Al Terrinoni never married but had a long time relationship with Emily L. Gilday with whom he was living (in the Snapper Village complex at Sunset and S.W. 117 Ave.) at the time of his death. He spent much of his leisure time working on the patios, putting in a deck, and reading on the patio deck.

Al was especially close to his mother and spent many weekends doing handiwork at her Hialeah home. He also supported his mother financially, partly from his off-duty jobs. His two brothers said that Al was the closest of the three to their mother and that his "sole ambition was to make our mother happy."

Terrinoni also loved sports, especially football and skiing. He was a member of the Little Flower Catholic Church, the Fraternal Order of Police and the Police Benevolent Association.

Survived by:

AngeloPorcaro - Father

mother, Anna Porcaro; two brothers, Vincent V. Terrinoni, 45, and Robert M. Terrinoni, 25, of Hialeah; two nephews, Steve Terrinoni, 23, and Michael Terrinoni, 15, of Hialeah; a niece, Kim Terrinoni, 21, of Hialeah; and Emily L. Gilday of Kendall

Fatal Incident Summary

Offender:	Thomas Jerome Hicks, Freddy Brown, Terrance Pittman, Frankie Lee Faniel Jr.

Location:	FL USA Sat. Oct. 11, 1980
Summary:	Coral Gables Sgt. Alfred William Terrinoni, 38, was shot and killed on Oct. 11, 1980, as he returned to his car after picking up the night deposit for the Westward Ho Restaurant in the Dadeland Shopping Center. He became the seventh Coral Gables officer killed in the line of duty and the fourth to be shot and killed in 13 years. The Gables force had only 122 sworn officers at the time Terrinoni was killed. Two of the four robberkillers received life sentences. Terrinoni was in civilian clothes and was working an off-duty job but his death was classified as on-duty since he was shot as he attempted to perform his police function in preventing an armed robbery--against himself. In subsequent years, three other Dade law enforcement officer deaths (Metro-Dade Officer Cheryl Seiden in 1982, N. Miami Officer Steven Bauer in 1992 and Metro-Dade Officer Evelyn Gort in 1993) occurred during armed robberies while off-duty and were also classified as line of duty deaths. On Saturday, Oct. 11, 1980, Sgt. Terrinoni, a 16-year veteran, got off work at 11:00PM and began his off-duty job with the Westward Ho restaurants. Terrinoni had been hired a year and a half earlier by Westward Ho restaurants after their Coral Gables headquarters had been robbed (on March 5, 1979). He worked the off-duty job to supplement his $22,500 annual police salary. Terrinoni and Coral Gables Officer Tommy Faroh alternated on Saturdays picking up the receipts from the Cutler Ridge and Dadeland Westward Ho restaurants. Officer Faroh was scheduled to work on Oct. 12 but asked Terrinoni to substitute for him. Terrinoni drove to South Dade where he picked up the receipts from the Westward Ho restaurant at the Cutler Ridge Shopping Mall. His second stop was Dadeland. He picked up the receipts there at about 11:45PM and walked to his car, a white Datsun 280Z, parked at the curb at the front of the restaurant (which faced south toward Kendall drive). He was likely unusually cautious as both off-duty officers had reported feeling that they were being watched on previous evenings when they picked up the receipts at the Dadeland restaurant. Four black males waited nearby in two cars, a yellow Chevrolet Chevette and a late-model Oldsmobile. The four had received a tip from a couple of ex-employees of Westward Ho that a man routinely picked up the restaurant receipts around midnight. They did not know that the "pick-up man" was an off-duty police officer. Two of the men got out of one car and approached Terrinoni with their guns drawn and told him to give them the brown zippered bag with the money (later determined to hold $4,800 in cash). Terrinoni apparently resisted and "went for his gun" but was shot three times (in the chest, thigh and left hand) as he attempted to draw his gun. He fell to the pavement with his gun still in its holster. The two men grabbed the money bags and ran to their car. In their rush to flee, they left behind one of the cash bags. The four men in the two cars then fled the scene. Metro-Dade Police Officers Richard Stankiewicz and Larry Gray were the first to arrive on the scene after someone called 911. They tried to resuscitate the mortally wounded officer before Fire Rescue arrived. Terrinoni was rushed to South Miami Hospital where he was admitted to the emergency room at 12:15AM. Resuscitation measures failed and Terrinoni was pronounced dead at 12:25AM (Oct. 12). The Medical Examiner listed the cause of death as a "gunshot wound of chest." THE PERPETRATORS An intense investigation began immediately as a total of 50 officers from Coral Gables, Metro-Dade and Miami worked around the clock until the first two arrests were made on Sunday night, less than 24 hours after the murder. Thomas Jerome Hicks, 18, and Freddy Brown, 17, were arrested on Oct. 13. The two had been suspects in at least three similar armed robberies of restaurants in southwest Dade. On Friday, Oct. 10, the day before Terrinoni was shot, Hicks had been sentenced by Judge Calvin Mapp to six months probation and a $25 fine in a theft case despite the objections of arresting Metro-Dade Officer Larry Gray who thought Hicks was dangerous and wanted him to go to jail. Gray had arrested Hicks on July 22, 1980, a few days after his 18th birthday, when he tried to use a stolen credit card to buy $10 in gas. Officer Gray found "two knives, a pellet gun, 10 flashlights and several credit cards bearing various names" in the car that Hicks was driving. Both Hicks and Brown were charged with first degree murder and armed robbery. Brown was a juvenile but was bound over to Circuit Court to be tried as an adult. Police later arrested Frankie Lee Faniel, Jr., 18, and Terrance Pittman, 16. All four were charged with first degree murder, armed robbery and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Hicks pled guilty to second degree murder and armed robbery and was sentenced on May 27, 1981, to life in prison by Judge John A. Tanksley with the court retaining jurisdiction for 15 years. In 1995 the FL Dept. of Corrections' records indicated that Hicks presumptive parole release date was Oct. 18, 2001 and that his next parole interview date was scheduled for May of 1996. The Terrinoni family continues to write letters and occasionally appear in person at parole hearings for the killers of Al Terrinoni. In 1992 members of the family made a successful personal appeal to deny parole to Hicks at a Miami parole board hearing. Brown pled guilty to second degree murder, armed robbery and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and was sentenced on Feb. 19, 1981, to life in prison by Judge John A. Tanksley with the court retaining jurisdiction for 20 years. In 1995 the FL Dept. of Corrections, records indicated that Brown's presumptive parole release date was April 18, 2004 and that his next parole interview date was scheduled for May of 1997. Pittman was convicted by a jury of second degree murder and armed robbery and was sentenced on Nov. 13, 1981, to four years in prison as a youthful offender to be followed by two years of probation. He was released to probation on Dec. 30, 1983, after serving 2 years in prison and was discharged from probation on Dec. 29, 1985. Faniel was convicted by a jury of second degree murder and armed robbery and was sentenced on Nov. 13, 1981, to four years in prison as a youthful offender to be followed by two years of probation. He was released to probation on July 21, 1983, after serving 1 & 12 years in prison and was discharged from probation on July 20, 1985.
Disposition:	All four were charged with first degree murder, armed robbery and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Hicks pled guilty to second degree murder and armed robbery and was sentenced on May 27, 1981, to life in prison by Judge John A. Tanksley with the court retaining jurisdiction for 15 years. In 1995 the FL Dept. of Corrections' records indicated that Hicks presumptive parole release date was Oct. 18, 2001 and that his next parole interview date was scheduled for May of 1996. The Terrinoni family continues to write letters and occasionally appear in person at parole hearings for the killers of Al Terrinoni. In 1992 members of the family made a successful personal appeal to deny parole to Hicks at a Miami parole board hearing. Brown pled guilty to second degree murder, armed robbery and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and was sentenced on Feb. 19, 1981, to life in prison by Judge John A. Tanksley with the court retaining jurisdiction for 20 years. In 1995 the FL Dept. of Corrections, records indicated that Brown's presumptive parole release date was April 18, 2004 and that his next parole interview date was scheduled for May of 1997. Pittman was convicted by a jury of second degree murder and armed robbery and was sentenced on Nov. 13, 1981, to four years in prison as a youthful offender to be followed by two years of probation. He was released to probation on Dec. 30, 1983, after serving 2 years in prison and was discharged from probation on Dec. 29, 1985. Faniel was convicted by a jury of second degree murder and armed robbery and was sentenced on Nov. 13, 1981, to four years in prison as a youthful offender to be followed by two years of probation. He was released to probation on July 21, 1983, after serving 1 & 1/2 years in prison and was discharged from probation on July 20, 1985.
Source:	Book Excerpted in part or in whole from Dr. Wilbanks book- FORGOTTEN HEROES: POLICE OFFICERS KILLED IN DADE COUNTY, FL, 1895-1995 by William Wilbanks Louisville: Turner Publications 1996

More from Coral Gables Police Dept.

Last Updated: May. 29, 2019