‘ They were brothers. They were joined at the hip’
Former police officers, best friends die of COVID-19 two weeks apart
ORANGE — Two former police officers, considered pillars in the volunteer community who were best friends until the end, have died of COVID-19 complications two weeks apart.
Retired police Lt. Rodger Jon Addil, 72, of Beacon Falls and formerly of Orange, was a member of the Orange Police Department for nearly 30 years, rising to the rank of lieutenant and head of the detective bureau. Addil died Dec. 8 of complications from COVID-19. He retired from the Police Department in 2000.
His best friend Leslie “Les” Abrams, 70, who was a supernumerary officer (part time) for 14 years, from June 28, 1978, to July 13, 1992, died Nov. 23, also of complications from COVID-19. Abrams had left the department because of an injury.
“They were brothers. They were joined at the hip — everywhere you went they were together,” said retired Assistant Police Chief Anthony Cuozzo, who said Addil was a role model and mentor to him and the reason he became an Orange police officer.
They were so close that Addil’s obituary states he was “predeceased by his friend of over 40 years, Les Abrams, with whom he undertook countless projects over the years for both of their families, the trolley museum, and many others. They were a super team that could accomplish anything together.”
Abrams’ obituary referred to Addil as “his best friend, turned brother.”
They got sick at the same time, but the circumstances of how they became ill were not immediately clear.
Police Chief Robert Gagne said both men were excellent officers. Abrams, a part-time but fully trained officer, was “very, very good,” and undertook the task to get certified when those requirements came into place.
“You could always depend on him to get the job done,” Gagne said, noting Abrams made many arrests and once was honored for preventing a suicide. “He was very dedicated, very professional and did his job the right way.”
Addil, considered a historian on the department and the town, was a “great guy,” Gagne said, as well as funny and an “impeccable” keeper of training records when those duties became part of his job. He received a letter of commendation for his work on a homicide investigation.
Addil got the nickname “Ice House” when an officer who lived in Hamden was asking other officers what the small building on the property he had purchased could be. Without missing a beat, Addil blurted “ice house,” from another room, Gagne said.
“Just a great guy you count on — he was always willing to help,” Gagne said. “He had a really, really good sense of humor.”
Cuozzo, who said he was “busted up” about Addil’s passing, said when he joined the Orange Volunteer Department out of high school Addil took him “under his wing.” Cuozzo went to the Milford Police Department where there was an opening but joined the Orange force as soon as he could. It was there Addil guided him in areas where there is no academic training, such as telling him to not to complain, not to hang out with the wrong people, and to make sure Cuozzo was making right decisions.
“He had the knack for detail,” as a police officer and detective, Cuozzo said, “But he always supported his troops, balancing his administrative role with the rank and file.”
Something Cuozzo disliked at the beginning of his career, but came to appreciate the value in, was Addil insisting on showing him every nook and cranny of the Police Department building such as the breakers and water lines, in case there was an emergency. “I said, ‘I want to know how to fight crime,’” Cuozzo said. But that practical mechanical training would prove valuable, however, including in Cuozzo passing it on to current Assistant Chief Max Martins.
He said Addil and Abrams did everything together, and both were right there to volunteer at all the town’s community events and elsewhere, including often volunteering together for the Orange Volunteer Fire Department.
He said Addil could come across as “gruff,” but at the end of the encounter, Addil would flash that “wry smile.”
“It was a façade. He had a huge heart,” Cuozzo said of Addil.
He said Abrams, too, “was a wonderful guy” with a great family, who also a little fake gruff about him.
“Every time he came in he had a big smile — he was a fixture in the community,” Cuozzo said.
He said Abrams famously built a huge bar in Addil’s
house in Orange, and then another in Beacon Falls.
Cuozzo said he now pictures them as: “Rodger is showing St. Peter where the water shutoff is, and Les is trying to figure out where to build a bar.”
In posts on the Police Department Facebook page, both men were remembered individually with the message, “May he find peace and comfort in God’s loving arms. We will never forget him.”
Addil’s obituary states he died “in the presence of his family.” A native of New Haven, Addil was married to his wife, Marcia, for 38 years, and also is survived by his daughter and two grandchildren, according to his obituary.
Addil during his career was a member of the Police Benevolent Association, the town’s Pension Board, the Orange Volunteer Fire Department for more than 25 years, was a Mason (Ansantawae Lodge No. 89) and had been a materials manager for 14 years with the Gowans-Knight Co., and then worked there parttime, according to his obituary
Addil was always interested in railroads, “model railroading, and trolleys,” was also an active volunteer, on the board of trustees and as director of motorman training, at the Shore Line Trolley Museum, where his grandfather, a former motorman, had been a founding member, according to the obituary.
Abrams is survived by his wife of 47 years, Patricia, three children and five grandchildren. He is described in his obituary as a “jack of all trades” and a master of many. He held several jobs as a truck driver and led a crew building an entire house in a weekend as a master of construction. He was a skilled diesel mechanic, fixing large trucks and machinery with ease, it said.
He was a regular volunteer every summer in the Satellite Food Booth at the Orange Volunteer Fire Department Carnival, famous for his signature steak and cheese sandwich.
The Orange Police Department said on its Facebook page that Abrams earned full certification from the Municipal Police Training Council in 1988, being recognized for his “dedication, perseverance, and professionalism.”