Sheriff’s Officer Joseph Rybka
30 years ago, on January 7th, 1979, Sheriff’s Officer Joseph Rybka of the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office was shot and killed in the line of duty while guarding Stephen Perry, and inmate being treated at the former Bergen Pines Hospital in Paramus, NJ.
Perry, who was at the hospital being treated for gunshot wounds he sustained during a shootout with Teaneck Detectives, asked Rybka to loosen his restraints so he could use the restroom. When Rybka did, Perry pounced on the officer and used his own IV stand to beat Rybka into submission. While Rybka was struggling to maintain consciousness, Perry grabbed his service weapon and pistol-whipped him with it over and over again. Finally, while Rybka was lying on the floor, Perry aimed and shot him 3 times.
In that instant Stephen Perry made a choice about the value he places on human life. The consequence of that choice has denied a son the presence of his father and the wife the company of her husband for 30 years.
Next year, Stephen Perry will stand for parole once more. The Bergen County Sheriff’s Office is partnering with Officer Rybka’s widow Pat, as it has so many times before, and standing in vocal opposition to any parole for Perry. It’s the firm belief of my officers and I that Perry’s sentence should reflect the same permanence as the one he has subjected Rybka’s wife and son to.
Below you will find a link to a blank copy of a petition form that is being circulated by Ms. Rybka and this agency asking individuals to register their outrage and opposition to parole for Stephen Perry. If you are interested in joining our cause, please take the time to download a copy of the petition and circulate it in your office or neighborhood. When a petition is full, please mail it to:
Sheriff Leo P. McGuire
Bergen County Justice Center
10 Main Street
Hackensack New Jersey 07601
ATT: Ben Feldman (RYBKA)
On behalf of the Rybka Family, as well as each and every one of our officers who risks their life every day to keep our citizens safe, I would like to thank you for any help you can offer us as we fight to keep Stephen Perry behind bars.
Leo P. McGuire
Bergen County Sheriff.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PETITION
.