Person Page - 157

     (?) Spagnol married Carmela (Carmen) Mallia, daughter of Peter Paul Mallia and Antonia DeBattista.

     Connie Mallia was born in Sydney, Australia. She married (?) Shipton.
     Her married name was Shipton.

     (?) Shipton married Connie Mallia, daughter of Peter Paul Mallia and Antonia DeBattista.

     John L. Chetcuti was born on 18 November 1916 in Malta. He married Emmanuela Sammut. John L. Chetcuti died on 9 August 1982 at South San Francisco, CA, USA, at age 65. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma, San Mateo Co., CA, USA.
     He emigrated from Malta in 1951.
Obituary: on 11 August 1982: CHETCUTI, John — In So.S.F., August 9, 1982; late of Millbrae; beloved husband of Lily Chetcuti of Millbrae; loving father of Angelo Chetcuti of San Bruno, Mary Norton of Burlingame, Charlie Chetcuti of San Bruno, Joseph Chetcuti of San Bruno, Pera Chircop of Millbrae and David Chetcuti of San Bruno; also survived by brothers and sisters in Matta; and 22 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren; a native of Malta; aged 65 years; a member of the Maltese American Family of San Bruno.

     (?) Chetcuti married Josephine Vella.

     Josephine Vella married (?) Chetcuti, son of (?) Chetcuti.
     Josephine Vella and (?) Vella were possibly the same person. Her married name was Chetcuti.

     Joseph C. Chetcuti was born on 12 January 1928 in Rabat, Malta. He married Annie Mary Cutajar, daughter of Tony Cutajar and Paulina Galea, on 2 February 1963 at St. Paul of the Shipwreck, San Francisco, San Francisco Co., CA, USA. Joseph C. Chetcuti died on 16 March 2001 at South San Francisco, CA, USA, at age 73. He was buried on 20 March 2001 at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma, San Mateo Co., CA, USA; LOR 5 g147.
     He emigrated from Malta on 27 June 1950 to New York, NY, USA. He was a member of the Maltese American Social Club in 1992.
Obituary: on 18 March 2001: CHETCUTI, Joseph Charles -- Born January 14, 1928, Joe passed away peacefully with his family at his side on Friday, March 16, 2001, at the age of 73. A native of Rabat, Malta, he was a devoted husband of Annie Chetcuti for 38 years; beloved father of Rita and husband Jose Zaldivar of San Francisco, Vincent and wife Beth Chetcuti of Sunnyvale, Brian Chetcuti of San Francisco, Veronica and husband Don Davenport of Pleasanton; loving grandfather of Marie and Darren Chetcuti, and Justin Davenport; brother of Roger and wife Pauline Chetcuti of San Francisco and the late Dolores Falzon of Malta. Joe will be sadly missed and fondly remembered by his surviving nieces and nephews, in-laws, and friends in Malta and the Bay Area. In the late 50's Joe immigrated to San Francisco along with his brother Roger. He worked for Roos & Atkins as head tailor with his late Uncle Roger. Also, he worked for ABM Maintenance Services and the Jewish Community Center; Member of Union Local 87 & The Maltese American Social Club in South San Francisco.

     Annie Mary Cutajar was born on 11 February 1932 in Hamrun, Malta. She married Joseph C. Chetcuti, son of Vincent Chetcuti and Modest Taliana, on 2 February 1963 at St. Paul of the Shipwreck, San Francisco, San Francisco Co., CA, USA. Annie Mary Cutajar died on 7 February 2010 at San Francisco, San Francisco Co., CA, USA, at age 77. She was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma, San Mateo Co., CA, USA.
     She emigrated from Malta with her parents to San Francisco, San Francisco Co., CA, USA. Her married name was Chetcuti.
Obituary: on 10 February 2010: Annie Mary Chetcuti Born on February 11, 1932, Annie succumbed to life eternal on Sunday, February 7th, four days before her 78th birthday. An eternal optimist and a tenacious fighter, she loved and enjoyed so much of this world and left peacefully when certain her family was ready to let her go. Born on the island of Malta, which she loved with all her heart and all her breath, she survived the hardship of World War II amidst family and friends, in bomb shelters and in neighboring fields. She came to San Francisco with her parents where she met her future husband, Joseph Chetcuti of Rabat, Malta. They were married at St. Paul of the Shipwreck on Third Street and their children were privileged to experience being raised in San Francisco and in Malta, the "mother country." Annie was greeted in eternal life by her husband Joe, her parents Tony and Pauline, her sister Alice, and her granddaughter Adriana, and is survived on earth by her grateful and adoring children: Rita and husband Jose Zaldivar; Vince and his wife Beth (nee Leipelt), along with their children Marie and Darren; Veronica and her husband, Donnie Davenport, along with their children Justin and Gabrielle; Brian and his wife Amy (nee Taylor) along with their daughter Stelli. She is missed and loved by her sisters Ines, Giuza, Helen, and Vanna, and their beautiful families here in the States and back home in Hamrun, along with her countless friends and extended family in the Bay Area and abroad. We will miss talking to you everyday on the phone mom, seeing your beautiful, happy face welcome all that comes your way. You are loved.

     Angelo Paul Chetcuti was born on 16 December 1936 in Naxxar, Malta. He married Rosemary Ann Putthoff, daughter of Fred Putthoff and Frances Camilleri, on 12 April 1958 at San Francisco, San Francisco Co., CA, USA; for 50 years. Angelo Paul Chetcuti died on 4 September 2008 at San Bruno, San Mateo Co., CA, USA, at age 71; age 71. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma, San Mateo Co., CA, USA.
     He emigrated from Malta SS Nea Hellas on 8 November 1951 to San Francisco, San Francisco Co., CA, USA.
Obituary: on 7 September 2008: Angelo, late of San Bruno and San Mateo County resident for 50 years entered into rest at his home on September 4, 2008 at the age of 71. Beloved husband of Rosemary Chetcuti for 50 years. Loving father of Anna Marie (Dennis); Mary (Jason); Susan; Michelle (Dave); Angelo (Rubyanne); and Michael (Sharon). Grandfather of his cherished 13 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. Dear brother of Mary; Charlie; Joey & Nina; Pera. Preceded in death by his parents, John and Lily Chetcuti; his brother, David Chetcuti and his grandson, Anthony Chetcuti. A native of Naxxar, Malta. A member of the Maltese American Social Club in SSF.

     Emmanuela Sammut was born in 1916 in Malta. She married John L. Chetcuti. Emmanuela Sammut died on 23 May 2001 at San Mateo Co., CA, USA.
     Her married name was Chetcuti. She emigrated from Malta SS Nea Hellas on 8 November 1951 to 1743 LaSalle St., San Francisco, San Francisco Co., CA, USA.
Obituary: on 28 May 2001: Lily Chetcuti Services will be held Wednesday for Lily Chetcuti, a longtime San Mateo County resident and mother of a slain Millbrae police officer, who died Friday. She was 84.

Born in Malta, she was a housewife who had resided in San Mateo County for the past 36 years.

Her son, David J. Chetcuti, an 11-year veteran of the Millbrae Police Department, was shot to death on April 25, 1998, during a traffic stop on the Bayshore Freeway.

Mrs. Chetcuti was the wife of the late John Chetcuti. She is survived by three sons, Angelo Chetcuti, Charles Chetcuti and Joe Chetcuti; three daughters, Mary Norton, Kathy DeHaven and Pera Magni; 24 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by a brother and sister in England, a brother in Malta and a sister in Australia. Emmanuela Sammut was also known as Lily Chetcuti.

     Mary L. Chetcuti was born on 4 March 1939 in Naxxar, Malta. She married Jacob R. Norton on 20 October 1956 at San Francisco, CA, USA; 2 Jun 1957 also.
     Mary L. Chetcuti was also known as Maria Chetcuti. She emigrated from Malta SS Nea Hellas; age 12 on 8 November 1951 to New York, NY, USA. As of 20 October 1956,her married name was Norton. She was living in 2024; 21824 El Coyote Dr, Sonora, California, USA 95370.

     Nina Chetcuti was born circa 1945 in Naxxar, Malta. She married (?) DeHaven.
     As of circa 1945, Nina Chetcuti was also known as Catherine Chetcuti. She emigrated from Malta SS Nea Hellas, age 6 on 8 November 1951 to San Francisco, San Francisco Co., CA, USA. Her married name was DeHaven.

     Imperia Chetcuti was born circa 1949 in Naxxar, Malta. She married Gerald Camilleri on 6 December 1970 at Reno, NV, USA. Imperia Chetcuti and Gerald Camilleri were divorced in May 1971 at San Mateo Co., CA, USA. Imperia Chetcuti married Anthony Chircop, son of Charles Chircop and (?) Vella, on 26 May 1973 at San Francisco, CA, USA. Imperia Chetcuti and Anthony Chircop were divorced in November 1977 at Stanislaus Co., CA, USA. Imperia Chetcuti married John R Magni.
     Imperia Chetcuti emigrated from Malta SS Nea Hellas, age 2 on 8 November 1951 to New York, NY, USA. As of 6 December 1970,her married name was Camilleri. As of 26 May 1973,her married name was Chircop. Her married name was Pera Chetcuti Chircop-Magni. Imperia Chetcuti was also known as Pera Chetcuti. She and John R Magni were living in 2022 in Sonora, CA, USA.

     Officer David John Chetcuti was born on 5 March 1955 in San Francisco, San Francisco Co., CA, USA. He married Gail Marie Bacigalupi on 12 October 1979 at Reno, NV, USA. Officer David John Chetcuti died on 25 April 1998 at Interstate 101, just south of the San Francisco International Airport, at age 43; Was shoot and killed on Interstate 101 by a mentally incompetent Marvin Patrick Sullivan. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma, San Mateo Co., CA, USA.
     Officer David John Chetcuti was also known as David Angelo Chetcuti. He was a a Millbrae police officer, Badge Number 6: Appointed December 16, 1987
Department
Millbrae Police Department
End of Watch
April 25, 1998 on 16 December 1987 at Millbrae, CA, USA. He was associated in 1998; He was president of the Millbrae Police Officers Association.

Officer David John Chetcuti was mentioned in the San Francisco Chronicle on 26 April 1998: Cop killed in hail of shots after traffic stop -- First Millbrae officer slain in line of duty; cache of pipe bombs, rifles found with suspect
By Erin McCormick
A San Francisco truck driver, carrying a cache of pipe bombs and rifles, has confessed to killing a Millbrae police officer Saturday morning in a shooting rampage that stared with a routine traffic slop. Police arrested 43-year-old Marvin Patrick Sullivan, who they said has a long criminal history involving guns, drugs and violence, after he allegedly opened fire on a San Bruno traffic officer on U.S. 101 at about 10 a.m. Sullivan then unloaded his highpowered rifle on the first officer to come to the rescue, Millbrae motorcycle Patrolman David Chetcuti, 43, police said. Chetcuti, an 11-year veteran of the Millbrae Police Department, was known for his dogged determination to be the first at the crime scene. The Millbrae resident is survived by his wife, Gail, and sons David, 17, John, 14, and Rick, 11.
Chetcuti died at the Millbrae Avenue off-ramp, with three gunshots to his head and his body riddled with bullets. His body remained there for hours under a yellow tarpaulin, surrounded by spent ballot casings. He was wearing a motorcycle helmet and boots. San Bnino police Officer Scann Graham, who had pulled Sullivan over on the Millbrae Avenue exit for not having a current registration sticker, narrowly escaped being shot by diving into the water of a drainage ditch and swimming to dodge bullets. After leading at least four police units on a chase over the San Mateo Bridge, Sullivan surrendered at the toll plaza on the Hayward side. Police found four pipe bombs, two rifles and several handguns in Sullivan’s blue Chevrolet.
"This is a sad day for us. This is the first time an officer has been shot in the line of duty,” said Millbrae Police Chief Mike Parker. “Dave was a mode! police officer. He was instrumental in catching a bank robber from Burlingame just last week. He just had a nose for police work.” Parker said investigators have not yet determined any motive for the shootings but are looking at whether Sullivan might be connected to other crimes, including a series of recent unsolved pipe bombings that, have rattled Fremont. When taken into custody, Sullivan had a superficial gunshot wound, which Parker said might indicate that Chetcuti managed to shoot the suspect before being killed. Sullivan, who lives on Leavenworth Street, was being held at the San Mateo County Jail in Redwood City.
The San Mateo County Sheriffs Department and Millbrae police are continuing their investigation to find out what Sullivan was doing with the pipe bombs and weapons and whether he belonged to any groups or movements. Parker said Fremont police have also been notified about the case. After Graham pulled Sullivan over to ask about his expired registration sticker, he approached Sullivan’s car. The suspect allegedly pulled out a rifle and started firing. Graham jumped behind his car for cover and broadcast a radio call for help. Sullivan allegedly fired a barrage of gunshots, forcing Graham to jump into a nearby drainage ditch, where he got into the water to dodge the bullets. Chetcuti arrived at the scene, responding to the call for help, and immediately found the rille trained on him. Parker said police are still trying to verity whether the officer was able to wound his attacker before succumbing to his injuries Arier shooting Chetcuti, Sullivan allegedly picked up the officer’s gun, got back into his car and headed south on Highway 101. Minutes later, he was spotted by CHP Officer Pat Wong, who started a chase that eventually included cars from the San Mateo Sheriffs Department and Millbrae police. When the chase reached the Hayward side of the bridge, Sullivan suddenly pulled into a parking lot and got out of his car with his hands up, Parker said. After the police discovered the bombs, the westbound bridge lanes were closed for several hours as the bomb sqiind brought in X-ray units and a bomb-handling robot to dispose of them safely. The closure and the rubbernecking on both sides of Highway 101 snarled traffic for hours.
Residents of Milibrae, where a smalltown atmosphere of barber shops and corner cafes still survives despite the bustle of nearby San Francisco International Airport, seemed utterly shocked at the shooting. Within hours of the slaying, flags at. City Hall were lowered to half-staff and neighbors began showing up with bouquets of fresh flowers to place under the plain brown sign marking police headquarters. The shrine for Chetcuti — rapidly growing even though his name had not yet been released included handpicked roses and a basket of azaleas. “I saw the flags at. half-mast and I knew something was up,” said 25-year Millbrae resident Peter Weirierljerger. who came down to the Police Department to show his respect. ‘‘You hear about this happening in the big cities,” he said. “But you think of a small town like Millbrae as being a place in the sun, like a retirement, community. Then this happens.’ !n the lobby of the 27-member police department’s headquarters, signs advertised free fingerprinting for Millbrae residents Saturdays and announced openings for young people who wanted to become “police explorers.’ But after the shooting, the building’s lobby was deserted. A sign on the door announced that there would be “No fingerprints on 4/25.” Outside, longtime resident Ida Roybal, who dropped off a bouquet, said, ‘Tm not sure which officer it is, but it wouldn’t matter. ï just want to show my respect. It’s a very special police department.” Police aie asking anyone who witnessed the shooting to call (650) 363-4000.

Officer David John Chetcuti was mentioned in the San Francisco Chronicle on 27 April 1998: Slaying of Officer Stuns Millbrae -- Millbrae Mourns First Officer Slain in Line of Duty -- Father of 3 called ‘most well-liked in the department’ by Sabin Russell and Kevin Fagan
On the last morning of officer David Chetcuti's life, he had parked his big police motorcycle at Miilbrae's Taylor Field to watch the local kids play baseball.
Chetcuti was that kind of cop, that kind of guy. "Give him an hour, and he'd give you 10," John Aquilina, a high school buddy, said yesterday. "He’d mow people's lawns, he'd help paint a house or put up wallboard." His last act was in keeping with how he lived. The 43-year- old Millbrae motorcycle officer was gunned down moments after leaving the ballpark Saturday morning, when he answered a call for back up from a San Bruno officer. Officer Scann Graham had pulled over a blue Chevrolet with expired registration at the Millbrae Avenue exit of nearby Highway 101, in the shadow San Francisco International Airport. Tlie first radio call was for
routine back-up. It isn't known if Chetcuti heard a more desperate call for help, when 43-year-old Marvin Patrick Sullivan — a San Francisco truck driver with a history of violence and an apparent hatred of police — allegedly began firng a high-powered rifle at Graham. The San Bruno policeman dove for cover behind his car. then into a drainage ditch, where he successfully dodged a fuslllage from Sullivan’s semi-automatic rifle, police said. Chetcuti was hit almost as soon as he arrived. At leasi 40 rounds were fired from Sulliivan's weapon, which was apparently home-built and looked like an AR-15, police said. Several rounds pierced Chetcuti's bulletproof vest, Police Chief Michael Parker said yesterday.
A search by San Mateo County Sheriffs Deputies at Sullivan's hotel room in San Francisco’s South of Market district uncovered rifle parts, gunpowder, blasting caps and other bomb-making paraphernalia, Parker said. When California Highway Patrol officers stopped Sullivan in a parking lot on the Hayward side of j the San Mateo Bridge, four crude pipe bombs tumbled out of the Chevrolet, which also carried a cache of guns. Police say he has confessed to the shooting. Sullivan was being held yesterday in San Mateo County Jail. Investigators kept a tight lid yesterday on information involving Sullivan's background, or possible reasons why he was so heavily armed. But sources said he had an extensive criminal record involving guns, drugs and attacking police officers. A spokesman for the California Department of Corrections said no information on Sullivan's prison record would be available until to day. However, investigators said he had enough convictions on his record to qualify for a three- strikes lifetime prison sentence if convicted of killing Chctcuti. Sullivan could also face the death penalty if convicted of all the charges possible in Saturday’s slaying.
The tragedy appeared to fit an increasingly disturbing pattern of risk for police officers since the three-strikes law was passed in the early 1990s. Statistics in recent years have shown that ex-convicts who clash with police and have at least two convictions on their record have become more likely to try to kill the officers rather than risk arrest acid a possible three-strikes conviction.Stunned Millbrae residents - many of them, like Chetcuti, of Maltese heritage — built a shrine of flowers yesterday for the mustachied cop.
Roses and tulips from flower shops, chrysanthemums in pots and birds of paradise from backyard gardens piled up in front of the sign marking the Milibrae police station. Photographs of Chetcutii, including a community police trading card showing him on his motorcycle, rested amid handwritten messages and votive candles.
Flags flew at half-staff all over town. He was the first police officer in the history of Millbrae, a small town of 21,000. to fall in the line of duty.
"He was :he most well-liked officer in the department, and in the community." said officer Richard Dixon, who remembers training Chetcuti when he joined the 27- meinber force 11 years ago. "He went on to being a better Field Training Officer than I.” Dixon added.
At the ball field on Saturday morning Cheteiitl had been chatting with Aquilina, who grew up with him in the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco. The two had remained fast friends ever since. Chetcuti loved cars and motorcycles, and had more on his mind. He talked about adding a tilt wheel to the car used in the Drug Abuse
Resistance Education program, a police effort to teach kids about drugs in school. He talked about how his motorcycle’s gas tank had been dented during a repair, and had been repainted except for the police insignia. "His bike was his baby,” Aquilina recalled. “He wanted to gel the stars back on his bike.” But Chetcuti broke off the friendly ballpark chatter when a call came in about an officer needing back-up. He sped off — true to his reputation for being first on the scene — and that was the last Aquilina saw of him.
Joan and Ted Adams of Burlingame didn’t know Chetcuti at all, but they drove up to the police station to drop off flowers anyway. “We wanted to go and let them know there are good and caring people out here,” said Joan, "lfeel so bad for the family.” Chetcuti leaves a wife, Gail, and three sons: David, ago 17; John, 14; and Rick, 11. Millbrae police have set up a trust fund for the family. Friends and fellow officers described Chetculi as a remarkable community man, dedicated to his job, his family and his neighbors. "He was the biggest success in the Chetcuti family,” Julie Lipke said of her uncle and godfather, wiping back tears. David Chetcuti’s father brought his big family to America from the island nation of Malta in 1951. David was the baby of the family, the youngest of seven children, and unlike his siblings was born in the United States. Family members say Chetcuti always wanted to he a police officer, was living his dream, and passing that ambition on to the kids of Millbrae.
Lynn Azzopardi planted a small Maltese flag at the police headquarters memorial. On Saturday she had gone down to the girls’ softball game at Taylor field to introduce herself to the officer. "He’d made an impression on our 5-year old, Paul,” said Azzopardi. Her mother-in-law had struck up a conversation with Chetcuti, learning that he, like the Azzopardi’s, were of Maltese descent. The officer had given Paul one of the trading cards that showed him on his motorcycle. "Paul said that he
thought the motorcycle was cool, and he wanted to bea policeman someday, too.”
But Azzopardi never got a chance to meet Officer Chetcuti. As she was walking toward him, he hopped on his motorcycle, and drove off to answer the call for help.
Across the bay, Fremont investigators examined the pipe bombs found in Sullivan’s truck, hut concluded the suspect probably had no connection with the string of bombings that plagued the city about a month ago. The pipe bombs from the truck were much cruder than the devices found in our city,” Fremont police Lieutenant Jim McKicrnan said yesterday. "As far as we know there is no involvement by Sullivan in our incidents.”.

Officer David John Chetcuti was mentioned in the San Francisco Chronicle on 27 April 1998: MILLBRAE -- On the last morning of officer David Chetcuti's life, he had parked his big police motorcycle at Millbrae's Taylor Field to watch the local kids play baseball. Chetcuti was that kind of cop, that kind of guy. "Give him an hour, and he'd give you 10," John Aquilina, a high school buddy, said yesterday. "He'd mow people's lawns, he'd help paint a house or put up wallboard." His last act was in keeping with how he lived: The 43-year- old Millbrae motorcycle officer was gunned down moments after leaving the ballpark Saturday morning, when he answered a call for back-up from a San Bruno officer.
Obituary: on 29 April 1998: CHETCUTI. David John — Late of Millbrae and San Mateo County resident for 33 years, entered Into rest on April 25. 1998 Beloved husband of Gall Chetcuti -married for 19 years; loving father of David Michael Chetcuti. John Leonardo Chetcuti & Ricky Lee Chetcuti. all of Millbrae; devoted son of Lily Chetcuti of San Bruno and the late John Chetcuti; dear brother of Angelo Chetcuti. Mary Norton. Chuck Chetcuti. Kathy DeHaven. Joe Chetcuti, and Pera Magni. Also survived by many nieces, nephews and cousins and also many great nieces, great nephews and great cousins. A popular and well admired and liked Millbrae Police Officer for the past 11 years.

Millbrae Police Officer. Born in San Francisco, his family were originally immigrants from Malta. He was a graduate of Capuchino High School in San Bruno and first joined the Millbrae Police Department as a reserve officer in 1983. On April 25, 1998, Officer Chetcuti was responding to a call for assistance from a San Bruno Police officer on Highway 101 who had been fired upon during a traffic stop. Officer Chetcuti arrived on the scene and was immediately fired upon by the suspect. He is the only Millbrae Police Officer ever killed in the line of duty. He leaves behind his wife, Gail, and three sons.
     

Officer David John Chetcuti was mentioned in the San Francisco Chronicle Officer David John Chetcuti was laid to rest Friday, May 1, in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma following a military-style funeral attended by family, friends and thousands of fellow officers. Approximately 3,000 uniformed officers, representing police and sheriff’s departments, FBI agents, BART police, mounted units and K-9 officers, some from as far away as New York, stood under a gray sky and steady rain for almost three hours to pay their respects to Officer Chetcuti.
Chetcuti was gunned down Saturday, April 25, 1998, on Highway 101 just south of the San Francisco International Airport when he went to the aide of San Bruno officer, Seann Graham. Graham had stopped 43-year-old Marvin Patrick Sullivan because his car registration had expired.
As Graham approached the driver of the Chevrolet sedan, Sullivan got out of the car and shot at him several times with a rifle, police said. Graham dived through some bushes into a drainage ditch and swam through a marshy area on the side of the highway as he called for backup.
When Chetcuti confronted the driver and ordered him to put the rifle down, Sullivan shot him in the chest and face and took his gun, police said. He then went to the fallen Chetcuti and shot him in the head. Chetcuti had managed to return fire and slightly wounded Sullivan. Several rounds pierced Chetcuti’s bullet-proof vest, police reported.
Sullivan surrendered to police without incident near the San Mateo Bridge toll plaza. A bomb squad was called to handle pipe bombs found in Sullivan’s vehicle. He has been charged with Chetcuti’s murder and the attempted murder of Graham. Authorities reported that Sullivan has a long criminal history involving guns, drugs and violence.
San Francisco and Bay Area law enforcement agencies broadcast a message to officers, as Chetcuti’s funeral took place, to observe 43 seconds of silence – “one second for each year of Officer Chetcuti’s life – for making the ultimate sacrifice to save a fellow officer’s life.
Chetcuti, a popular 11-year veteran of Millbrae Police Department, was the first line-of- duty death in that agency and the first in San Mateo County in a decade.
Chief Michael Parker told reporters “Dave Chetcuti was well liked and had a special rapport with teenagers. This is a very sad time for the Millbrae Police Department. We are a small department with only 27 officers so we’re very much like a family. It’s going to be bad for Dave’s family and for us for a very long time.”
Chief Parker added “This is a sad day for us. This is the first time an officer has been shot in the line of duty. Dave was a model police officer. He was instrumental in catching a bank robber from Burlingame just last week. He just had a nose for police work.”
Chetcuti, who lived in Millbrae, served on the Millbrae police force since his appointment on December 16, 1987. He had served as a motorcycle, patrol and field training officer and was often praised for his work. Chief Parker said Chetcuti’s commendation file was filled with letters of appreciation from citizens and local politicians, and no one had ever complained about him. He had received the department’s lifesaving award for saving a heart attack victim in 1995. He was president of the Millbrae Police Officers Association. Officer Richard Dixon, who trained Chetcuti when he joined the Millbrae Police Department 11 years ago, said, “He was the most well-liked officer in the department, and in the community.” Dixon added “He went on to being a better Field Training Officer than I.” Chetcuti was described by friends and fellow officers as a remarkable community man, dedicated to his job, his family and his neighbors.
A high school buddy, John Aquilina, stated that Chetcuti spent the last morning of his life watching the local kids playing baseball. “He was that kind of cop, that kind of guy. Give him an hour, and he’d give you 10. He’d mow people’s lawns, he’d help paint a house or put up wallboard.”
Chetcuti’s last act was in keeping with how he lived: He was gunned down moments after leaving the ballpark as he answered a call for back-up. Julie Lipke, wiping back tears, described her uncle and godfather “He was the biggest success in the Chetcuti family. He didn’t just serve the community, he was part of the community. He loved this town.” Rev. John Greene, San Francisco Fire Department chaplain, said in his homily at the St. Dunstan Church service, “He was the heart and soul of the Millbrae Police Department . . . He touched the lives of many people who didn’t know him.”
Chief Parker said of the service “I am so moved by the turnout that I see here today. “I’m really proud of the people of Millbrae . . . It makes me proud to serve this community . . . Today, Millbrae is showing its love for David Chetcuti.”
A friend of Chetcuti’s, Reno Camilleri, who had known him since childhood and immigrated from the same hometown, Mosta, Malta, as Chetcuti’s family told everyone “He was really a great guy. For the community, he was the perfect police officer. He really cared about the kids. He didn’t just want to arrest them or get them in trouble. He wanted to help them. He knew them all. I think the kids were his favorite part of the job.”
Family members say Chetcuti always wanted to be a police officer, was living his dream, and passing that ambition on to the kids of Millbrae. His son, David, an explorer scout with the Millbrae department, wants to become a cop like his dad. David helped seven officers carry his father’s coffin from the church to a hearse outside for the trip to the cemetery.
San Francisco Archbishop William Levada, who conducted the service, described Chetcuti as a devoted husband, father, police officer and friend to many. “Gail encouraged him to become a police officer and she has no regrets he chose the occupation. He came to law enforcement late in life, but he found the passion of his life.” Chetcuti’s youngest son, Ricky, wrote in his eulogy for his dad’s service “Every time I play basketball or fix a model, I’ll always think of you. You’ll always be my hero.” Rev. Greene, in his homily, said “He worked hard for his family. He found the job of his dreams. (Gail) supported him . . . She has no regrets about his choice of career.” Chetcuti is survived by his wife, Gail, and sons 17-year-old David, 14-year-old John, and 11-year-old Rick.
A trust fund has been established for Chetcuti’s sons. Please forward checks to Account No. 06-616-879, First National Bank of Millbrae, 1551 El Camino Real, Millbrae 94040.

Officer David John Chetcuti was mentioned in the San Francisco Chronicle on 2 May 1998: Thousands of officers at fallen mate’s funeral by Stacy Finz and Marshall Wilson
Thousands of law enforcement officers and other mourners packed the sidewalks of Millbrae in the rain yesterday to say goodbye to a man they called a hero.
The officers came from as far as New York, donning black bands across their badges. And civilians brought flowers and waved American flags as they
huddled under umbrellas, unable to fit inside the 600 seat church. People even stood on the roofs of neighboring buildings to witness the somber funerai procession for 43-year-old Millbrae police officer David J. Chetcuti, an 11-year veteran of the force. The death of Chetcuti, a motorcycle officer who was gunned down April 25 while coming to the aid of another officer during a shootout on Highway 101, [FUNERAL: Slain Millbrae Officer Recalled Fondly, Laid to Rest]
reminded them of how fragile life is for a beat cop. The officers came to his funeral Mass at St. Dunstan Catholic Church to comfort one another and to lend support to Chetcuti’s wife and three sons. “None of his fellow officers here today are surprised that Dave gave his life," said the Rev. John L. Greene, chaplain for the San Francisco Fire Department, who spoke at yesterday's formal police funeral, reserved for those killed in the line of duty. “He was a proud and dedicated police officer. And the knowledge of him being a good man is more powerful than death.” Clad in full dress uniforms, more than 2.500 officers stood shoulder to shoulder outside the
Church in a dozen rows, each more than a city block long. After the service, a mounted patrol and more than 300 motorcycle officers then led the slow procession of some 1.500 to 2,000 cars to Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, where Chetcuti was laid to rest. The procession stretched more than five miles.
Both President Clinton, who was visiting Silicon Valley, and the president of Malta, the home of Chetcuti’s ancestors, publicly offered their condolences yesterday.
“I want to express my gratitude for the bravery he showed when ho lost his life," Clinton said while touring Thermo Inc. in San Jose yesterday.
Chetcuti is the first Millbrae officer to he killed in the line of duty and the first San Mateo County officer killed on the job this decade. A Palo Aito rookie officer Joel M Davis was shot to death in 1988 during a foot chase with a gunman. His killer was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Chetcuti was shot more than a dozen times by a motorist who had been stopped for an expired registration. Chetcuti had rushed to the southbound Millbrae Avenue offramp to help the San Bruno offiicer who had made the stop and then radioed for help. "He surely saved the life of a fellow officer,” Millbrae Police Chief Mike Parker told mourners. “We never will he able to understand this tragedy.” The suspect, Marvin Patrick Sullivan. 43. is being held without bail in the San Mateo County jail on charges that he murdered Chetcuti, a crime that could carry the death penalty. Sullivan has a history of mental illness, according to court records.
Holy Cross field supervisor Max Maraffio estimated that the somber crowd was by far the largest he had seen in his 26 years at the Catholic cemetery.
Rain began to fall during the brief graveside service. Helicopters flew overhead and Chetcuti was honored with a rifle salute. A bagpiper played “Amazing Grace,” and a lone bugler signaled taps under the dark skies. Chief Parker handed Chetcuti's widow, Gail, the American flag that had draped her husband’s casket. Members of the honor guard then slowly removed their white gloves and as a last tribute, left them atop the casket for burial. Chetcuti was raised in San Francisco and was the youngest of seven children born to John and Lily Chetcuti. He graduated from Capuchino High School in San Bruno. He and his wife married in 1979. Eight years later, he was hired as a deputy sheriff in Alameda County. The family has lived in Millbrae for almost six years. Officers remembered Chetcuti’s sense of humor and his love of fishing and hot rod cars. “Losing him is going to affect us all,” said Parker, adding that during Chetcuti’s tenure with the department, the officer had 60 letters of commendation and not one complaint. “He is probably embarrassed by all the attention.” Parker said of the funeral. “He’d say, Hey, I was just doing my job.”'
During the service, the San Francisco Police Department asked officers to observe 43 seconds of silence, one for each year of Chetcuti's life.
Maltese Cross Foundation was a member of Maltese Cross Foundation Award in 1998.

Officer David John Chetcuti was mentioned in the San Francisco Chronicle on 9 July 2002: Doctors balk at D.À. s plan to make murder defendant take drugs By Matthew B. Stannard Chronicle Staff Writer
A San Mateo County prosecutor’s unprecedented attempt to force a schizophrenic murder defendant to take drugs that would make him competent to stand trial collapsed Monday after county doctors said the plan might violate medical ethics. Prosecutor Stephen Wagstaffe withdrew his motion to compel Marvin Patrick Sullivan to take his medications after the doctor who would carry out the plan balked at the idea. As a result, Sullivan will probably face a July 22 competency trial without the drugs that state doctors said made him competent to stand trial for the April 1998 killing of Millbrae Police Officer David Chetcuti. Should Sullivan be found incompetent, he is likely to be re turned to Napa State Hospital, where he was sent after the shooting. Doctors at Napa treated Sullivan with anti-psychotic drugs and in April 2001 found him to be competent. Sullivan began refusing his medications shortly after that, however, and his defense attorneys say he will not even speak with them anymore. They want their client declared incompetent again and returned to the hospital. To prevent that, Wagstaffe filed a motion in April 2002 asking that Sullivan be forced to take his medications. Such an order would be unprecedented in California, Wagstaffe conceded, but would avoid a “yo-yo effect” of Sullivan bouncing back and forth between hospital and jail for the rest of his life without ever going on trial. Defense attorneys responded that “forced drugging is one of the earmarks of the gulag,” especially in a possible death penalty case, and argued that California law allows such a step only in a state hospital after a defendant has been declared incompetent for trial. Judge Dale Hahn of the San Mateo County Superior Court asked Wagstaffe to give him a full plan of how the county would force Sullivan to take his medication, and county attorneys brought the request to Stephen Cummings, acting medical director of hospital psychiatry for San Mateo County. Cummings said in an interview Monday that he had strong concerns about forcing medication on a patient who has been ruled competent [Doctors reluctant to force defendant to take drugs] — and therefore presumed to be able to make his own decisions about his case.“(A doctor) has a very strong duty of advocacy, and when someone else instructs him or her to treat a patient against their will, that role is being violated, the role of doctor-patient relationship,” Cummings said. "A doctor treats patients, and the criminal justice system handles criminals.” However, he added, those concerns didn't mean he was rejecting Wagstaffe’s idea — just that he wanted time to evaluate it thoroughly. “It's a very interesting problem, because clearly there are some real community needs to be addressed here,” Cummings said. 'People want resolution of the criminal justice process, and they deserve it” But from a practical standpoint, Cummings' refusal to come up with a treatment outline right away prevented Wagstaffe from meeting Hahn's request for a medicating plan by Monday, the prosecutor said. Only two weeks remain until the competency trial. “We don't have time for somebody to hold a seminar with his colleagues over a course of months,” Wagstaffe said. “I don’t think it’s incumbent on the doctors to make that choice; 1 think that’s what the court is designed to do.” Sullivan's attorney Vincent O’Malley said outside court that the doctor's reservations were appropriate and predicted Sullivan would now be found incompetent and returned to Napa. “The law can't resolve all social issues in a timely fashion,” O'Malley said. “It’s one of the imperfections we have to deal with.” Prosecutors say Sullivan killed Chetcuti with 13 bullets from a homemade semiautomatic rifle at the Highway 101 off-ramp to Mill- brae on April 25,1998. One of the shots was fired point-blank into Chetcuti's face. Sullivan told investigators that he was an astronaut, had killed more than 200 people through magical powers and had been ordered by the government to carry a weapon. Millbrae Police Chief Gregory Cowart, who was in court Monday when Wagstaffe withdrew his motion to compel medication, said after the hearing that Chetcuti's family and friends were infuriated by the doctors’ resistance. “The event that has just transpired have moved us beyond frustration to anger and outrage,” Cowait said. “We fail to see how the county’s medical staff are not working with the system to make this happen.”.

Officer David John Chetcuti was mentioned in the San Francisco Chronicle on 2 August 2002: Ex-cop indicted as kingpin of charity scam By Alan Gathright, Chronicle Staff Writer
In one of the biggest sham charity busts in the Bay Area, a former Santa Clara County sheriffs lieutenant and a dozen others have been indicted for bilking more than $3 million in public donations for a bogus “Police and Sheriffs Athletic League.”While the “boiler-room” telemarketers urged people to donate for “the children of dead or injured police officers” and “holiday food baskets for the poor,” former Lt. Armand Tiano is accused of using it to lavishly spend on pricey Dodge Viper sports cars, a Jaguar, a race car, recreational vehicles and a new San Jose home. Prosecutors say that less than 2 percent of the money — under $50,000 - went to legitimate
charities.Law enforcement officials hope the four-year probe - which covered more than 50,000 donor checks and thousands of Bay Area victims — raises public awareness of telemarketing schemes that often target the elderly and well-intentioned people by falsely associating their fund-raising with legitimate law enforcement agencies or charities. “It's just the saddest thing to use people who believe they are doing something good for the public,” said Assistant District Attorney Karyn Sinunu.
Tiano and his 12 alleged conspirators — who include his ex- wife and members of San Jose telemarketing operations - are accused of deceiving the public by creating sham charities with “law enforcement sounding names,” according to the Santa Clara County grand jury's 42-page in- dictmeni made public Thursday. The 13 defendants — nine of whom were arrested in recent days and two who are already in prison — are'also accused of grand theft, tax evasion and money laundering in a scheme where at least $1.4 million in cash was funneled through bank accounts and front corporations.
The law enforcement community expressed outrage that Tiano and his telemarketing operators tried to cash in on the 1998 slaying of Millbrae police Officer David ChefcutiJ who was gunned down in the line of duty. Soon after the killing, the group convinced people to write checks for the “Officer Chetcuti Fund” and the “Millbrac Officer Family Trust Fund,” money that was never given to the officer’s widow, Gail Chetcuti, according to the indictment.
“1 think this was really a travesty to capitalize on an officer’s death and to prey upon the good will of honest people who want to do the right thing for their community,” said retired Millbrae police Capt. Rob Dean, a friend of Chetcuti who has helped his family through the tragedy and established a fund that received hundreds of donations.
Court records chart Tiano’s long fall from a powerful lawman, who oversaw the county jails, presided over the deputies union and made two runs for sheriff, to an outlaw convicted of molesting two teenage girl relatives in 2001. Tiano, 64, who retired from law enforcement in 1996, was sentenced last week to 16 months in prison for failing to register as a sex offender. Now prosecutors accuse him of using his law enforcement credibility and union presidency to exploit the public’s trust.
Tiano's defense attorney, Jaime A. Lea nos, said he thinks prosecutors have “harassed and singled out” Tiano because, as head of the deputies union, he “made some enemies politically and professionally.”
Nine charity scam defendants were arraigned Thursday in Santa Clara County Superior Court. They included: Lcsa Stone, Tiano's ex-wife and an East Palo Palo police officer; telemarketers George and Matthew Kellner of Contra Costa County and their 75-year-old mother, Lovic Nico-, letti; Sammy and Rose Marie Marino; Kenneth Amczcua, Gerrit Buijtendijk and Joseph Dagna 111, all of San Jose.
Tiano remained in San Quentin Prison Thursday, along with fellow defendant Rodney Strickland, who is being held for parole violation. Their arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday. Two telemarketers remain at large: Joseph Eric Wilhams and Stewart Levy...

Officer David John Chetcuti was mentioned in the San Francisco Chronicle on 17 February 2005: Despite delusions, defendant fit to stand trial, doctors say -- Hearing held in case of Millbrae officer fatally shot in 1998 By Ryan Kim, Chronicle Staff Writer
Despite suffering from delusions, including recent instructions from God to seek his own execution, Marvin Patrick Sullivan — who confessed to killing a Millbrae police officer in 1998 — is competent to stand trial, two state doctors testified Wednesday. The doctors, appearing at Sullivan's competency hearing, contradicted four defense psychologists and psychiatrists who earlier testified that Sullivan, 50, remains incapable of thinking rationally and assisting in his own defense. The two doctors from Napa State Hospital, where Sullivan has been treated for five years, said that although Sullivan still suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, he worked with his attorneys and grasps his legal situation. ‘'People can have illogical beliefs and still work with their attorney and understand everything in the case and the evidence against them,” said psychiatrist William Flynn. “It's not self-exclusive.” San Mateo County Superior Court Judge H. James Ellis could rule on Sullivan's competency as early as today after closing arguments. Sullivan has confessed to the April 1998 shooting of officer David Chetcuti, who was coming to the aid of a San Bruno police officer under fire from Sullivan on Interstate 101. Sullivan was twice found to be mentally incompetent, most recently in 2002, and has spent most of his time at Napa State HospitaL He has told his doctors of numerous delusions, including his belief that he is an archangel, an astronaut, the target of a CIA-mafia conspiracy and even a clone of singer Michael Jackson. Last month, doctors in Napa alerted San Mateo County prosecutors that Sullivan was deemed fit for trial after he showed consistent progress, continued to take his medication and passed a mock trial test in October. Since then, however, his attorneys say Sullivan has taken a turn for the worse. In a videotaped meeting with his attorneys on Feb. 10, he did an about face and said he now wants to be sentenced to the death penalty because the Holy Spirit instructed him to seek it. Four mental health doctors testified Tuesday and Wednesday that despite some improvements in Sullivan's condition, he remains a captive of his delusions, even while medicated. Psychologist Joanna Elizabeth Berg said the video shows Sullivan's inability to assert control over his hallucinations.
“I think Mr. Sullivan’s beliefs and thinking is influenced directly by what he thinks he⁷s being told by God,” Berg said. But Napa State psychologist Jack Dawson testified Sullivan has shown marked improvement during the last couple of years and an increasing awareness of the charges against him. He said that despite the video, which he admits gives him some pause, he believes Sullivan is ready for triaL “There was unanimous agreement he had demonstrated competency in that (mock) trial,” Dawson said. “What I saw (on the video) raised questions for me, but I don't think it's a basis for changing my opinion.”.

     Gail Marie Bacigalupi was born on 12 January 1956 in San Francisco, San Francisco Co., CA, USA. She married Officer David John Chetcuti, son of John L. Chetcuti and Emmanuela Sammut, on 12 October 1979 at Reno, NV, USA. Gail Marie Bacigalupi died on 14 July 2004 at Millbrae, CA, USA, at age 48; age 48. She was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma, San Mateo Co., CA, USA. Biography Gail Chetcuti -- wife of slain officer, aided families of homicide victims

Ryan Kim, Chronicle Staff Writer Published 4:00 am, Friday, July 16, 2004

CHETCUTI232-C-22JUL02-MT-PG Gail Chetcuti at home with a picture of her dead husband, Millbrae cop David Chetcuti, who was killed four years ago. She spends a few quiet moments alone before going to court. The man who admited killing him is Marvin Sullivan, a paranoid schizophrenic

A part of Gail Chetcuti died on April 25, 1998 when her husband, Millbrae Police Officer David Chetcuti, was fatally shot while aiding another police officer.

But from that dark moment, Gail Chetcuti was reborn, armed with a powerful sense of purpose to help the families of homicide victims and improve the criminal justice system. For six years, Mrs. Chetcuti comforted the grief- stricken, fought to bring her husband's killer to justice and pushed for legislation that would compel mentally unstable defendants to take their medication.

Just a week ago, ill with cancer, she testified in a Santa Clara courtroom against six defendants accused of using her husband's name to scam money from sympathetic donors.

It would be her last public act. Mrs. Chetcuti died Wednesday at her home, just six weeks after being diagnosed with brain cancer. She was 48.

"When David died, the old Gail left and the new Gail came in and her strength overtook her life after that," said her sister Sharon Fuhs. "She made us all stronger with her. Even to the minute of her death, she made us strong."

Strong is a word often associated with Mrs. Chetcuti. Already a dedicated and supportive police officer's wife, she seemed to grow in resolve following his death.

"She was an island of calm in a sea of chaos, and she was that way every time I ever talked to her or was in her presence," said former Millbrae Police Chief Greg Cowart. "Officers were upset, the family was upset, the system seemed to be set on its ear by this entire case, but Gail was always reflective. It always seemed like she had enough patience to pass out to all the people involved. She was an incredible human being."

Officer Chetcuti died while responding to a call for help from a San Bruno police officer who was under gunfire from a suspect on Highway 101. Chetcuti arrived and was fatally shot by Marvin Patrick Sullivan, who was arrested a few miles away.

Retired Millbrae Officer Rob Dean recalled walking up Chetcuti's driveway with then-Chief Mike Parker and a chaplain the day David Chetcuti died, and how Gail Chetcuti collapsed into his arms when he told her the news that she had already guessed.

But in the aftermath of that day, Dean said, it seemed as if the small woman, who always seemed to be standing quietly in the background when her husband was alive, supported him far more often than he had to support her.

"I always liken it to Joan of Arc: She got up on a horse and she started riding it. If it was raining or snowing or the sun was shining, she kept going forward," he said.

San Mateo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe worked with Mrs. Chetcuti in prosecuting Sullivan, who was diverted to a state mental hospital after he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Wagstaff and Mrs. Chetcuti became friends and tried unsuccessfully to push legislation that would compel defendants like Sullivan to take their medication.

"She was a phenomenal woman. She was one of the most courageous and stalwart women I've met in my life," Wagstaffe said. "Even after she lost her husband to violence, her response to that was to go out and help others."

Mrs. Chetcuti became an active member of Northern California Concerns of Police Survivors, which supports the family members of slain police officers. She would often accompany family members of dead police officers when they testified in court. She visited with survivors, most recently with the family of San Francisco Police Officer Isaac Espinoza, who was shot and killed in April while on duty.

The added workload was not easy for Mrs. Chetcuti, who was also raising three boys on her own. But she never complained and remained diligent to her work, said her son, David Chetcuti Jr., a community service officer with the Millbrae Police Department.

She brought that same attitude to her fight against cancer, he said.

"She was very strong woman. She would never shed a tear. She would never cry and would never allow anyone to cry in front of her. She was determined to not be down," her son said.

Even in her last week, she fought for what she believed. She made the trip to San Jose to testify against Santa Clara County Sheriff's Lt. Armand Tiano and five others, who were accused of a charity scam that used her husband's name.

Born in San Francisco, Mrs. Chetcuti grew up in San Bruno. She was working at Burlingame doughnut shop in 1979 when she met David Chetcuti, then an auto mechanic. They married later that year.

The family enjoyed boating and fishing on San Francisco Bay and Lake Shasta. An avid scrapbook maker, Mrs. Chetcuti also liked arts and crafts, a hobby that took a backseat following her husband's death.

Mrs. Chetcuti is survived by sons David Jr., John and Rick Chetcuti, all of Millbrae; two sisters and five brothers.

A viewing and rosary will be observed Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at Dunstan Church, 1133 Broadway in Millbrae. The funeral will be held at St. Dunstan at 10 a.m. Monday followed by burial at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma.
     As of 1979,her married name was Chetcuti.

Gail Marie Bacigalupi was mentioned in the San Francisco Chronicle on 23 July 2002: Wife of slain officer endures agonizing wait for justice -- Gail Chetcuti went to court in San Mateo, where the defendant in her husband's death was declared incompetent a second time to stand trial. By Matthew B. Stannard Chronicle Staff Writer
Gail Chetcuti got up early Monday morning to watch the man accused of murdering her husband slip into insanity again. She rose at 6:30, dressed and put on the ring she wears instead of her wedding band - the one with two colored bands, one police blue, the other black. Marvin Sullivan, a paranoid sciizophrenic, is accused of killing Officer David Chetcuti.
She walked into the kitchen of the Millbrae home she once shared with her husband, David, to make some coffee - past the wooden box with a replica of his Millbrae Police badge No. 6, past the family portrait wi ll the couple and their three sons, assembled after his death, past the resolution naming in his honor :he section of Highway 101 where he was gunned down on April 25,1998. The man who pul ed the trigger, police said, was Marvin Patrick Sullivan, a paranoid schizophrenic with a history of violence. On Monday, for the second time since the hiiling, Sullivan wm due in San Maleo County Superior Court for a short trial to determinee whether he was mentally competent to stand triial for murder. And just like the first time he was in court, Gail Chetcuti planned to be there, even though she knew ihe judge would declare him inoompetent again.
He did. Thr ruling wasn't a surprise to her, but she went anyway. “I just have to be there. I know I don't have to go, but I have to be there," she said during an interview a few days before the hearing "If they're going to send him back, I would like them to stare me in the face.”
Still, she admitted, it is a grim day that brings back memories of the life she had. They met in the Royal Donut shop in Burlingame in 1978. She was a waitress, he was a caterer with an off-the-wall sense of humor. They married in 1979. The first of their three sons was born in 1983. Gail Chetcuti why her husband dceidel to become a police officer. But by the time he joined the Millbrae department in in 1987, it was a perfect fit. "He had his scanner on 24 hours a day, and if something happened, he wanted to go,” she said. “His job was first, and we all knew that.” Chetcuti’s last day was typical, it began with a quick breakfast of cold pizza and coffee, his wife recalled. “I’m going to go out and find some action,” he said, and walked out the door. Hours later, Gail Chetcuti looked out her front door to see Millbrae Police Chief Mike Parker, Chetcuti’s friend and fellow officer Robert Dean and a priest coming up the walk. And she knew what had happened.
David Chetcuti had responded on his motorcycle to a San Bruno officer, who called for help after a driver he stopped for an expired registration sticker opened fire with an automatic rifle, but didn't hit the officer. When Chetcuti arrived, he was shot 15 times. His bullet-proof vest didn’t save him. Sullivan was arrested and charged, and he allegedly confessed almost immediately. But it took Chetcuti’s widow more than a year to face his accused killer in court. She finally attended her first court hearing on June 28,1999. The next day, over prosecutors' protests, Sullivan was declared incompetent to stand trial and sent away to a state mental hospital to receive therapy and medication designed to return him to competency.
And Gail Chetcuti began her long wait. “It’s on your mind all the time,” she said. “I felt like the system failed." Years passed. Chetcuti spent them traveling, attending police memorials and commemorations in the Bay Area, Sacrameniojmd Washington, D.C.. Earlier this year, she finally began going through photographs and making scrap books for each of her sons. “It was hard, but once I got going on it, it's easier,” she said. “It helps me heal.” It caught her by surprise last April when prosecutor Steve Wagstaffe called to tell her Sullivan was coming back. She thought there might be a trial. Her hope didn't last long. A few weeks later, Wagstaffe called again to tell her that Sullivan had stopped taking his anti-psychotic medication because the pills were a different color from the ones at the state hospital.
Months of court battle followed, as Sullivan’s attorneys repeatedly challenged the competency of a client who wouldn’t even communicate wills them anymore.
Chetcuti appeared at nearly every hearing, saying nothing, just watching Sullivan and convinced he was watching back with intelligence and awareness, chizophrenic or not. Finally, in December, the case was put off for an October trial. "I had a sinking feeling in my stomach," she said. "I felt sick. It just brings it back like it's yesterday.” She continued to attend court, as Wagslaffe fought an ultimately futile battle to force Sullivan to be medicated.
Finally, all other options exhausted, she prepared for Moiday’s competency trial — the same proceeding she watched nearly three years ago. At 9:01 a.m. Monday, Gail Chetcuti sal down in San Mitco County Superior Court and watched Marvin Sullivan, dressed in a red jail jumpsuit and manacles, take his seat in the jury box. She stared at him. And after a moment, he turned, and stared at her. Then both looked away. Neither said a word after Sullivan’s attorneys, Dek Ketcham and Vincent O'Malley, agreed that two court-appoinled doctors had found Sullivan incompetent to stand trial. They waited silently as Judge Dale A Hahn, in an unusual statement from the bench, urged both sides to find some way to insure that Sillivan — if he ever returns to Court - will not be allowed to lapse back into insanity while awaiting trial. They listened as Hahn declared Sullivan incompetent once again, and ordered him returned lo the same state hospital where he has spent more than two years.
And atl 9:11 a.m., Sullivan, guided by two deputies, rose aid returned to jail. A moment later, Chetcuti rose and returned lo her long wait to see Sullivan punished in some way "My punishment for him would be locking him in a cell with pictures of Dave surrounding him," she said, "Then he’ll really be crazy." And she returned lo her home in Millbrae, where pictures of David Chelculi stare out from every wall.. Obituary on 16 July 2004 at East Bay Times: GAIL MARIE CHETCUTI At her home in Millbrae, July 14, 2004. A native of San Francisco, age 48 years, she is survived by her three sons, David, John and Ricky, her father, two sisters, five brothers and several brothers- and sisters-in-law. Widowed in 1998 after husband, Officer Dave Chetcuti, was slain in the line of duty, Gail devoted herself to the NorCal COPS (Concerns of Police Survivors) organization.

Gail Marie Bacigalupi was mentioned in the San Francisco Chronicle on 16 July 2004: Gail Chetcuti - wife of slain officer, aided families of homicide victims - By Ryan Kim
A part of Gail Cheicun died on April 25,1998 when her husband, Millbrae Police Officer David ChetcuU, was fatally shot while aiding another police officer. But from that dark moment, Gail Chetculi was reborn, armed with a powerful sense ol purpose to help the families of homicide victims and improve the criminal justice system. For six years, Mrs. Chetcuh comforted the gnef- stnckcn, fought to bring her husband’s killer to (ustice and pushed for legislation that would compel mentally unstable defendants to take then medication.Just a week ago, ill with cancer, she testified in a Santa Clara courtroom against su defendants accused of using her husband’s name to scam money from sympathetic donors.It would be her last public act. Mrs. ChdcuO died Wednesday at her home, |ust su weeks after being diagnosed with brain cancer. She was 48.
“When David died, the old Gail left and the new Gail came in and her strength overtook her hie alter that,'’ said her sister Sharon Fuhs. “She made us all stronger with her Even to the nunute of hex death, she made us strong." Strong is a word often associated with Mrs. Chetculi. Already a dedicated and suppirtive police officer’s wife, she seaned togrow in resolve following his death. “She was an iiland of calm in a sea of chaos, and she was that way every time I eve: talked to her or was in her presence,” said former Millbrae Police Chief Greg Cowart “Officers were upset, the family was upset, thesystem seemed to be set on its ear ty this entire case, but Gail was alwiys reflective. It always seemed like she had enough patience to pass out to all the people involved. She was an incredible human being."
Officer Chetculi died while responding to a call for help from a San Biuno police officer who was under gunfire fiom a suspect on Highway 101. Click uUarrived and was fatally shot ky Mamn Patrick Sullivan, who was arrested a few miles away. Retired Millbrae Officer Rob Dean recalled wilking up Chetcu- ti’s driveway with then-Chief Mike Parker and a chaplain the day David Clitic uU died, and how Cail Chetculi collapsed into his arms when he told hei the news that she had already guessed.
But in the aftermath of that day, Dean said, u seemed as if ihe small woman, who always seemed to be standing quietly in the background when her husband was alive, supported him far more often than he had supported her. “1 always liken it to Joan of Arc She got up on a horse and she started riding it. If it was raining or snowing or the sun was shining, she kept going forward," he said. San Mateo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstalfe worked with Mrs. Chdcuti in prosecuting Sullivan, who was diverted to a state mental hospital after he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Wagstall and Mrs. Chetculi became friends and tried unsuccessfully to push legislation that would compel defendants like Sullivan to take then medication. “She was a phenomenal woman. She was one of the most courageous and stalwart women I've met in my life,” Wagstaffe said. “Even after she lost her husband to violence, her response to that was to go out and help others.”
Mrs. Chdcuti became an active member of Northern California Concerns of Police Survivors, which supports the family members of slain police officers. She would often accompany family members of dead police officers when they testified in court She visited with survivors, most recently with the family of San Francisco Police Officer Isaac Espinoza, who was shot and killed in April while on duty. The added workload was not easy for Mrs. ChclcUU, who was also raising three boys on her own. But she never complained and remained diligent to her work, said her son, David Chetcuti Jr., a community service officer with the Millbrae Police Department.
She brought that same attitude to her fight against cancer, he said. ‘‘She was very strong woman. She would never shed a tear. She would never cry and would never allow anyone to cry in front of her. She was determined to not be down,” her son said. Even in her last week,she fought for what she believed. She made thetnp to San Jose to testify against Santa Clara County Sheriffs Lt. Armand Tiano and five others, who were accused of a chanty scam that used her husband’s name.
Bom m San Francisco. Mrs. Chetcuti grew up in San Bruno. She was working at Burlingame doughnut shop m 1979 when she met David Chetcuti, then an auto mechanic. They mamed later that year. The family enjoyed boating and fishing on San Francisco Bay and Lake Shasta. An avid scrapbook maker, Mrs. Chetcuti also liked arts and crafts, a hobby that took a backseat following her husband’s death. Mrs. Chetcuti is survived by sons David Jr., John and Rick Chetcuti, all of Millbrae; two sisters and five brothers. A viewing and rosary will be observed Sunday at 6:30 pan. at Dun- stan Church, 1133 Broadway In Millbrae. The funeral will be held at St. Dunstan at 10 aan. Monday followed by bunal at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma. Chronicle staff writer Matthew B. Stannard contributed to this article.

     David Michael Chetcuti Jr was born on 7 May 1980 in San Mateo Co., CA, USA.¹
     He was a Dave Chetcuti Jr. works as a crime analyst at the Millbrae Police Department, his nephew, Kenneth Chetcuti, works as a South San Francisco police detective. in 2008.

     John Leonardo Chetcuti was born on 7 January 1984 in San Mateo Co., CA, USA.¹

     Rick Lee Chetcuti was born on 6 June 1986 in San Mateo Co., CA, USA.¹

     Lina Pace was born on 30 April 1936 in Valletta, Malta. She married John Paul Sant, son of Chris Sant and Mary Vella, on 28 April 1956 at San Francisco, CA, USA.
     Lina Pace was also known as Maria Carmela Pace. She emigrated from Malta on 21 April 1955 to New York, NY, USA. Her married name was Sant. She was living in 2024; 5602 Barrington Farms Dr, Aiken, SC 29803
(650) 341-2609.

     Mary Jane Sant was born on 14 January 1957 in San Francisco, CA, USA. She married David Borg, son of George Vincent Borg and Louise Boccaleoni, on 19 October 1980 at San Francisco, San Francisco Co., CA, USA.
     As of 19 October 1980,her married name was Borg.

     David Borg was born on 17 July 1954 in San Francisco, San Francisco Co., CA, USA. He married Mary Jane Sant, daughter of John Paul Sant and Lina Pace, on 19 October 1980 at San Francisco, San Francisco Co., CA, USA.

     Elizabeth Sant was born on 13 September 1958 in San Francisco, CA, USA. She married (?) Pomerleau. Elizabeth Sant married Don Crivello.
     Her married name was Pomerleau. Her married name was Crivello. Elizabeth Sant was living in 2002 in Concord, CA, USA. She was a member of the Maltese American Social Club in 2002.

     Don Crivello married Elizabeth Sant, daughter of John Paul Sant and Lina Pace.
     Don Crivello was a member of the Maltese American Social Club in 2002.

     Arline Sant was born circa 1961. She married Paul Noce on 27 March 1982 at San Francisco, CA, USA.
     Her married name was Noce.

     Paul Noce married Arline Sant, daughter of John Paul Sant and Lina Pace, on 27 March 1982 at San Francisco, CA, USA.

     Daniel Alpio Stellini was born.

     Craig Anthony Stellini was born.

     Anna Marie Chetcuti was born on 4 February 1961 in San Francisco, San Francisco Co., CA, USA. She married Dennis J. Briffa, son of Anthony Briffa and Tessie Azzopardi, on 4 April 1981 at San Mateo Co., CA, USA.
     As of 4 April 1981,her married name was Briffa. Anna Marie Chetcuti was also known as Annamari R Chetcuti.

     Dennis J. Briffa was born on 21 March 1961 in San Francisco, CA, USA. He married Anna Marie Chetcuti, daughter of Angelo Paul Chetcuti and Rosemary Ann Putthoff, on 4 April 1981 at San Mateo Co., CA, USA.
     Dennis J. Briffa was educated in 1978 at Crestmoor High School, San Bruno, CA, USA. As of 1996, Dennis J. Briffa lived at San Mateo, CA, USA.