October 20, 2023
Source/Philadelphia Police Department
The funeral for Philadelphia police officer Richard Mendez, who was fatally shot on duty, will be held Tuesday at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Center City.
Philadelphia police officer Richard Mendez will be laid to rest Tuesday following a funeral Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Center City.
Mendez, 50, was fatally shot Oct. 12 while responding to an attempted car break-in at a Philadelphia International Airport garage.
A public viewing is being held from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Monday at the John F. Givnish Funeral Home, at 10975 Academy Road in Northeast Philadelphia. A second viewing takes place from 8-11 a.m. at the basilica.
The funeral Mass begins at noon Tuesday. Seating inside the basilica is reserved for family, friends and law enforcement officers. Words of remembrance are scheduled for 11:30 a.m.
Following the funeral procession, Mendez will be laid to rest at Forest Hills Cemetery in Huntingdon Valley, Montgomery County.
Several roads in Center City will be closed Tuesday morning due to the memorial service. They will reopen once the procession ends.
At 5 a.m. Tuesday, 18th Street will be shut down between the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Vine Street.
The following road closures take effect at 6 a.m. Tuesday:
• Benjamin Franklin Parkway between 16th and 22nd streets
• Vine Street between Logan Circle and 16th streets
• Race Street between 17th and 18th streets
• 17th Street between Vine Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway
• 19th Street between Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Cherry Street
Additional streets around the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Eakins Oval may be closed or detoured by Philadelphia Police if conditions require it.
Mendez served as a Philadelphia police officer for nearly 23 years, primarily with the 25th District in North Philly. He transferred to the airport district in 2018. He is survived by a wife and a daughter.
He was shot four times in his torso while responding to the car break-in with his partner, Raul Ortiz, 60, who was injured in the shooting. Mendez died after being taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.
Three New Jersey men have been charged with murder in connection to the shooting – Yobranny Martinez Fernandez, Alexander Batista Polanco and Hendrick Peña-Fernandez. They each were arrested earlier this week.
Jesus Herman Madera Duran, who was killed in the shooting, also is believed to have been an accomplice. He was taken to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in a stolen Dodge Durango shortly after the shooting. That vehicle was later found abandoned and set on fire in South Brunswick, New Jersey.
There is an ongoing investigation to determine who is responsible for shooting Mendez.
