Officers involved in Canonsburg ambush recognized for service
Canonsburg Mayor David Rhome and Peters Township Chief Doug Grimes present an award to Sgt. Matthew Collins at the honor dinner at Southpointe Saturday.
Ashley Bashioum accepts a flag from the nation’s capital presented by Congressman Tim Murphy at the honor dinner at Southpointe Saturday.
The assembled guests join in an extended standing ovation for the police officers honored at the diner at Hilton Garden Inn at Southpointe Saturday.
Cecil police officers Thomas Quinlan and Matthew Shaffer enjoy the buffet at the police honor dinner at Hilton Garden Inn Saturday.
Officer Scott Bashioum’s son, Cole, was asked to pull the winning ticket for a 50-50 drawing. The winner gave Cole $50 from his share of the winnings at the honor dinner Saturday.
Medal of Honor and Purple Heart ribbons are ready for presentation to Ashley Bashioum in honor of her late husband, Scott, at the dinner Saturday.
One-year-old Reese Taylor enjoys time with her aunt, Ashley Bashioum, at the police honor dinner Saturday.
Officers and honorees stand on the platform at the police honor dinner Saturday. From left, Peters Township Chief Doug Grimes, Cecil Chief Shawn Buckovinsky, Cecil Sgt. John Holt, Peters Sgt. Matthew Collins, Canonsburg Officer James Saieva, Canonsburg Sgt. Donald Cross, Ashley Bashioum, Canonsburg Mayor David Rhome, and Canonsburg Chief Alex Coghill.
Canonsburg Mayor David Rhome and Police Chief Alex Coghill award Sgt. Donald Cross at the honor dinner at Hilton Garden Inn Saturday.
Canonsburg Mayor David Rhome and Chief Alex Coghill award Officer James Saieva at the honor dinner at Hilton Garden Inn in Southpointe Saturday.
Officer Bashioum’s parents, Bobbie and Leslie Bashioum, join Peters Township Sgt. Michael Collins in prayer at the opening of the honor dinner Saturday.
Canonsburg police Chief Alex Coghill welcomes guests to the police homor dinner Saturday.
Piper Anthony Gennaccaro calls the guests to dinner at the police honor event Saturday.
Canonsburg Mayor David Rhome awards Ashley Bashioum in honor of her late husband, Office Scott Bashioum, at the dinner held at Hilton Garden Inn at Southpointe Saturday.
Congressman Tim Murphy presents a flag from the nation’s capital to Ashley Bashioum on behalf of a grateful nation at the honor dinner Saturday.
In the early morning hours of Nov. 10, Ashley Bashioum got the news that no wife of a police officer ever wants to get. Her husband, Canonsburg police Officer Scott L. Bashioum, was shot in the line of duty while responding to a domestic dispute at a borough home and would die a short time later of his injuries at Canonsburg Hospital.
The 52-year-old Scott L. Bashioum was posthumously recognized and his widow presented with a Purple Heart and Medal of Honor by Chief Alexander Coghill during a benefit Saturday to raise money for his family. Officer James Saieva, who was wounded, also received those honors. Canonsburg Sgt. Don Cross, Cecil Township Sgt. John Holt and Peters Township Sgt. Matt Collins who arrived at the scene and helped the injured officers were presented with a Medal of Honor from Coghill.
After she accepted the commendations, Ashley Bashioum said the four officers along with her husband could not be more deserving of the recognition.
“The four of you stood by my husband against the worst evil,” she said. “It was an honor and privilege to have you by his side and he would have done the same thing for you.”
Ashley Bashioum said everyone can rest assured her husband, an avid fisherman, was looking down on them from the best fishing hole in heaven.
“We can’t go back and change the outcome,” she said, urging the other officers to continue to do what they do with pride and in the courage of conviction and asking them to do it in her husband’s memory.
“It is with overwhelming pride that I stand up here with you,” Ashley Bashioum added. “It is a comfort that Scott spent his last moments doing what he loved to do.”
“I pray for your continued safety,” she added as she congratulated them, telling the four she is proud to call each of them not only brothers but friends.
Also receiving a commendation was Chris Openbrier, a veteran 911 telecommunications officer, who gave directions and information to responding police officers and other first responders while maintaining a calm demeanor, Coghill said, calling the job he did that morning “fantastic.”
Coghill said the call that morning came in at 3:20 a.m. to 120 Woodcrest. Bashioum was shot twice, but was able to return fire. Saieva was shot as he was getting out of his car. Coghill said his sidearm was disabled, and he was not able to return fire but was able to alert other officers that shots were fired.
When Cross arrived on the scene moments after the shooting, he saw Bashioum on the ground as shots continued to be fired from the second floor. Police would later learn the shooter, Michael Cwiklinski, was also aiming at a vehicle he had rigged to explode. The 47-year-old Cwiklinski also had rigged an explosive inside the house.
Coghill said Cross moved his patrol vehicle through the line of fire close to Bashioum and dragged him partially into his vehicle as shots continued to be fired. Collins and Holt helped Cross get Bashioum into the cruiser so the injured officer could be removed from the scene. Bashioum was later pronounced dead at Canonsburg Hospital.
Cross drove another patrol vehicle through the line of fire to Saieva’s position. Cross got Saieva into the vehicle, taking him to safety, while Collins and Holt provided cover, Coghill said. Saieva was taken to Canonsburg Hospital and then transferred to a Pittsburgh hospital for treatment.
Cwiklinski killed himself after he also shot and killed his wife, Dalia Sabae, 28, who was three months pregnant with their child.
Coghill said it has been a sad journey over the last two months, but said the support had been fantastic. He thanked the chiefs from the surrounding departments, the state police and Washington County sheriff’s office who took over patrolling the borough as the Canonsburg officers dealt with Bashioum’s loss and prepared for his funeral.
“We couldn’t have got through it without you,” the chief added.
Coghill also thanked the members of Canonsburg Volunteer Fire Department who spent countless hours supplying equipment and offering other assistance.
“Your dedication to the community is to be commended,” Coghill said.
Michael Phillips, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 22, thanked the Western Pennsylvania Police Benevolent Foundation its president, Rick Griffith, for their help in not organizing the funeral but their assistance in making sure the families of the injured officer had their needs met. Griffith, a South Park officer, said it hit home for him since he formerly worked for McDonald and North Strabane Township police departments.
“We will never be able to bring Scott back as much as we would like,” Phillips said. “But those boys of his have a lot of aunts and uncles, we will make sure of that.”
Presentations were also made by Congressman Tim Murphy, R-18th District: who presented Ashley Bashioum with a flag that flew over the U.S. Capitol in November; state Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll Township; Rick McGlennon, supervisory special agent in charge of the FBI’s Monongahela office and Larry Dunn of Amen Corner.
An auction of items including sports memorabilia was held after the awards presentation and dinner, with several thousand of dollars being raised for the Bashioum family. A Sidney Crosby jersey autographed by the Pittsburgh Penguins went for $2,500. Other memorabilia and items also were sold for more than $1,000.