Times Chronicle & Public Spirit
Community pays respects to State Trooper Branden Sisca
People gather to 'honor his service, his sacrifice'
COLLEGEVILLE » More than 1,000 people gathered outside of Perkiomen Valley High School Saturday morning to pay their respects to fallen Pennsylvania State Trooper Branden T. Sisca, 29, who was killed last month in the line of duty.
A procession left an East Norriton Township funeral home around 10:30 a.m. as police officers, firefighters and other first responders accompanied several limousines to Sisca’s alma mater, located at 509 Gravel Pike.
A number of law enforcement officers stood at attention nearby as the Pennsylvania State Police pipes and drums, a line of police motorcades and fire trucks concluded the procession. Several flags were held outside the school’s entrance where a funeral service took place inside.
“Today is to honor his service, his sacrifice, not only as a state trooper, but as a fireman as well, and as a husband, a son, a family member,” said Cpl. Brent Miller, a public information officer with the Pennsylvania State Police.
In addition to his time as a state police trooper, Sisca served as fire chief of the Trappe Fire Company. He was also the son of Montgomery County Deputy Sheriff Craig Sisca.
“The entire Department of Public Safety was extremely saddened to hear of the traffic loss of State Trooper and Fire Chief Branden Sisca. We extend our deepest condolences to his fellow troopers, firefighters, family, and friends,”
said Todd Stieritz, public affairs coordinator with the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety.
Services and viewings for Sisca and fellow Trooper Martin F. Mack III, 33, were held this week in Montgomery and Bucks counties, respectively. Both men were killed in a March 21 crash on Interstate 95 in Philadelphia.
On Saturday, public service members throughout the nation traveled to honor the memories of Mack and Sisca, according to Miller, who said Iowa’s contingency drove for more than 15 hours.
“It really shows the support reaches beyond the borders of the commonwealth,” Miller said. “It’s reached throughout the entire country all the way out to the West Coast to the middle of the country.”
Pennsylvania State Police Communications Director Lt. Adam Reed agreed.
“That show of support is appreciated far and wide,” Reed told reporters Saturday morning. “It was heartwarming to see … from our brothers and sisters in law enforcement across the United States.”
Crowds lined the street in front of Perkiomen Valle High School, watching as the procession took place. A line of officers could be seen waiting to enter the school to honor Sisca’s memory.
Organizers handed out brochures featuring photos of Sisca on his wedding day, as well as with his family, friends and colleagues.
The pamphlets included the Pennsylvania State Police “Call of Honor” on the back cover, which read in part that “I must serve honestly, faithfully, and if need be, lay down my life as others have done before me, rather than swerve from the path of duty.”
Sisca and Mack responded just before 1 a.m. on March 21 to reports of a man, later identified as 28-year-old Reyes Rivera Oliveras, of Allentown, who was walking south on I-95 near mile marker 18 in Philadelphia, according to state police. Officers had been “helping him into the back of their cruiser” when the suspect allegedly “attempted to drive past the scene” and “fatally struck all three (people) and the cruiser … and remained at the scene.”
Oliveras was also killed, according to state police. The suspect, later identified as 21-year-old Jayana Tanae Webb, of Eagleville, was arrested in connection with the incident that claimed the lives of Mack, Oliveras and Sisca.
Webb was charged with a host of offenses including third-degree murder, second-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, vehicular homicide, and driving under the influence. A judge ruled Webb to be held without bail following her arraignment. Webb’s next court appearance is a preliminary hearing scheduled for Tuesday morning at the criminal justice center in Philadelphia.
Sisca and Mack worked in the patrol division of Pennsylvania State Police Troop K, state police said. Mack enrolled back in 2014 and Sisca joined the force last February.
Sisca was born on June 23, 1992, in Norristown, according to his obituary. He graduated from Perkiomen Valley High School and went on to attend West Chester University where he earned a bachelor’s in criminal justice. Sisca later obtained a master’s in safety security and emergency management from Eastern Kentucky University.
Sisca began his journey with the Montgomery County-based department as a junior firefighter, according to a post on the fire company’s website. Along with Sisca’s role as fire company treasurer, he advanced several positions from lieutenant to captain to battalion chief to deputy chief before assuming the top leadership position of fire chief.
Sisca’s obituary listed several of his hobbies including working out, watching the Philadelphia Flyers and traveling to Ocean City, New Jersey. He is survived by Sisca is survived by parents Craig and Mary Sisca, his wife, Brittany, and their unborn daughter, along with other relatives and friends.
Mack, of Bristol, was married with two children. He graduated from Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast Catholic High School in 2006 and graduated from Albright College in 2011. He was an assistant lacrosse coach at Harry S. Truman High School in Bristol Township.
Area residents paid their respects to Mack as a procession traveled from Wade Funeral Home, in Bristol, to St. Michael the Archangel Church, in Levittown.
Hundreds of vehicles then accompanied Mack’s body from the service to his final resting place at Our Lady of Grace Cemetery, located in Middletown Township.
It’s not yet clear when Sisca will be laid to rest. His interment is expected to be private, according to a statement from state police.
Nearly two weeks after the tragedy occurred, local and organizations have fundraising campaigns to assist the families including the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association’s “Troopers Helping Troopers” program, according to Reed, as well as through the Montgomery County Hero Fund.
As people paid their respects to both men in uniform who “gave the ultimate sacrifice,” Reed took a moment to reflect on these events.
“It puts everything in perspective. Both of these men led amazing lives, lives of service,” he said.