Wilson Family Genealogy
Stories about Howard Duane Mead
From Bill: Howard "and five other deputies had been involved in a scuffle with two prisoners at the [Niagara] county[, USA, NY] jail the day before he was stricken. Deputy Mead reportedly bumped his head during the melee but continued on duty and then went to Scranton, for commencement exercises for his nephew, * * *, over the weekend. He collapsed during the exercises Saturday and was taken to a Scranton hospital where he died Sunday at about 3:30 pm. Ernest Pettigrew of Niagara Falls[, USA, NY, Niagara,] pleaded guilty on 3 Oct 1967 to second-degree manslaughter in his death. Pettigrew was in the county jail waiting to be tried for robbery and grand laceny. He was sentenced to five years for the robbery and a five-year sentence on a conviction to a manslaughter charge in Mead's death. The two sentences were served concurrently, a development that angered area law enforcement officials. In his book, Protecting Niagara: A History of the Niagara County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff's Investigator Christopher J. Carlin wrote: 'In reality, the inmate [Pettigrew] received no additional punishment for this crime.' Following his release, Pettigrew was again arrested and convicted of raping three women between May and June 1973. This time he served 20 years in prison and was released in 1993. In a sad commentary on our criminal justice system, Pettigrew was once more arrested in September 1994. This time he was charged with the brutal robbery, rape, and murder of Genevieve Budrewicz of Niagara Falls.
"Howard had been a member of the Niagara County Sheriff's Department since 1954, and before that had worked for the Town of Hartland in Niagara County. He was a member and past master of Hartland Lodge 218, F&AM; a member of John Hodge Lodge of Perfection, Buffalo Consistory, Ismalia Temple of the Shrine, a director of Lockport Shrine Club; a member and past patron of Hartland Chapter 595, OES, and past grand sentinel for the OES State of New York Niagara-Orleans District. He was also a member of the Sheriff's Association of Niagara County."
Howard Duane Mead has a memorial page on the website of the Officer Down Foundation. This website honors the Nation's police officers who have been killed in the line of duty.