Gannett apologizes for running scathing obituary of ex-NYPD cop
Newspaper chain Gannett has apologized for operating a Florida man’s scathing obituary of his former NYPD cop father that trashed him as an abusive alcoholic.
Lawrence Pfaff Jr., of Jacksonville, eviscerated his deceased dad in a July 2 piece within the Florida Instances-Union as a neglectful lout who left his youngsters “damaged.”
Pfaff wrote that his father was a 20-year NYPD vet whose “hobbies included abusing his first spouse and kids.”
“From a younger age, he was a girls’ man and an abusive alcoholic, solidifying his dedication to each with the trail of destruction he left behind, damaging his grownup youngsters, and leaving them damaged,” Pfaff wrote within the startling obituary.
The Gannett Firm, which owns the Jacksonville-based publication, stated the piece ought to have been flagged as inappropriate previous to publication.
“We regrettably printed an obituary that didn’t adhere to our tips and we’re trying into the matter additional,” the corporate advised First Coast Information. “We remorse any misery this may increasingly have prompted.”
The scorned son touched on his father’s time as a New York Metropolis cop within the obituary.
“Lawrence, Sr. did spend over 20 years within the NYPD, however even his time in service was negligent at greatest,” he wrote. “Due to his alcohol habit, his Commanding Officer took away his gun and badge, changing them with a brush till he may get his act collectively.”
Pfaff Jr. told First Coast News that his pained prose was an train in cathartic therapeutic — and that he wrote it previous to his loss of life as a coping mechanism.
“Writing his obituary was a manner for me to essentially cleanse myself and let that a part of my life go,” he stated. “And so a 12 months in the past, I sat down and commenced to jot down it, not realizing I’d have a possibility within the close to future to make use of it.”
His father’s passing at 81, he wrote within the piece, would permit his youngsters to start their restoration in earnest.
“He was incapable of affection,” the obituary learn. “Lawrence, Sr.’s passing proves that evil does finally die, and it marks a time of therapeutic, which can permit his youngsters to get the closure they deserve.”
Pfaff advised First Coast Information that made futile makes an attempt to attach together with his father however had been estranged from him for 30 years.
Whereas the obituary shocked some readers, Pfaff stated the themes rang acquainted to others.
“I acquired a name from any individual in St. Augustine that discovered me and wished to thank me for posting that as a result of, you already know, that they had an identical life, they usually wished to have the ability to do one thing comparable to assist heal,” he advised the outlet. “They only thanked me for, you already know, the honesty.”
