Buffalo officer paralyzed six years ago dies

BUFFALO -- The gunshot injuries that paralyzed Patricia Parete from the neck down six years ago were an affront to the independent, Harley-Davidson-riding police officer, her doctor and friend said at her funeral yesterday, describing Parete as an unwilling and difficult patient who could be as tender as she was tough.

"She never surrendered her core strength, her dignity, her pride," Dr. Christopher Kerr said inside Trinity Episcopal Church, where police officers, friends and family members filled nearly every pew.

Parete, 48, who recently had been under hospice care, died Saturday. Her death was ruled a homicide, but the exact cause was not released.

Now prosecutors are weighing whether to pursue a murder charge against the shooter who fired multiple rounds at Parete and her partner as they chased him down a Buffalo street while investigating a fight at a convenience store in December 2006.

One bullet struck Parete's bulletproof vest while another pierced her face and severed her spine. Officer Carl Andolina was struck three times in the neck, arm and chest but was able to tackle the 18-year-old gunman to the ground. Andolina survived.

Varner Harris Jr., now 25, is serving 30 years to life in prison after pleading guilty in 2007 to two counts of attempted murder.

The day before the funeral, Andolina urged people to celebrate his partner's life and embrace her family.

"Now is not the time to relive the incident which shattered Patty Parete's life," the statement said.