Borough loses friend, comrade in Bashioum
Canonsburg police Officer Scott Bashioum performs a commercial vehicle inspection in Waynesburg in this May 2015 photo.
Laurie Popeck, left, of Chartiers Township places flowers at a memorial for Canonsburg police Officer Scott Bashioum.
Items left at the memorial for Canonsburg police Officer Scott Bashioum, 52, of Washington, who was shot and killed when he and another officer answered a domestic call early Thursday.
Becky Travaglini of Canonsburg prays after placing her mother’s teddy bear at the memorial for Canonsburg police Officer Scott Bashioum, 52, of Washington, who was shot and killed when he and another officer answered a domestic call early Thursday.
Becky Travaglini of Canonsburg prays after placing her mother’s teddy bear at the memorial for Canonsburg police Officer Scott Bashioum, 52, of Washington, who was shot and killed when he and another officer answered a domestic call early Thursday.
Jim Horvath knew Scott Bashioum not only as a fellow police officer but as a friend and neighbor.
“It was just yesterday he flagged down my wife to give her a dozen eggs,” said Horvath, chief of Chartiers Township Police Department.
Bashioum, 52, a Canonsburg police officer, was pronounced dead of a gunshot wound at 4:10 a.m. Thursday in Canonsburg Hospital. A second officer, James Saieva, was injured after responding to a domestic dispute on Woodcrest Drive. State police described the shooting as an “ambush” and confirmed a woman and the suspect, Michael Cwiklinski, 47, were found dead inside the home.
Bashioum, who was retired from the U.S. Air Force, had been a Canonsburg police officer for seven years. He was the department’s motor carrier enforcement officer in addition to regular patrol duties.
Horvath said he and Bashioum had been neighbors for about 10 years. Bashioum was married with two young sons and two older daughters.
“He was one of those guys that you like to be around,” Horvath said. “He was always with his boys.”
Horvath said Bashioum recently returned from a trip to fish for salmon.
Canonsburg police Chief Alexander Coghill said Bashioum was a great guy, a loving father.
“He was always willing to do the job,” Coghill said. “He never once said no when I asked him to do something. He was always there.
“This is one of the things you hope you never get a call about,” the chief said.
Canonsburg Mayor David Rhome said the borough lost a friend and comrade.
“My stomach turned when I received the call,” he said, adding the borough will be there for the families of the two officers. “We will find the faith to get through this.”
Bob Lonick had been friends with Bashioum for 30 years.
“We grew up together in Slovan,” said Lonick, who is in law enforcement as a corporal in the Washington County Sheriff’s Department. “Our daughters went to school together. When I was chief of the Slovan Volunteer Fire Department, he was one of the line officers.”
Lonick said he got the call about his friend about 5 a.m.
“I am absolutely devastated,” Lonick said. “He was always smiling and never had a bad word to say about anyone. This is a loss for everyone, that is for sure.”
Lonick said the two last talked a few weeks ago, adding that Bashioum would often go fishing at Cross Creek Lake with his friends from the military.
Current Slovan fire Chief Brandon Kriznik described Bashioum as a guy “who would do anything for you.”
“I’m devastated,” said Kriznik. “He brought me up.”
According to Kriznik, Bashioum worked for the Smith Township road department before going back to school to become a police officer.
“He was one of those guys, you’d ask him to do anything, and he’d help you out,” Kriznik said. “He was always like that.”
Michael Philips, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 22, where Bashioum was a member, said it was a very, very sad day.
“Violence has hit our little community,” he said.
Bashioum traveled to various departments, including Waynesburg and Cumberland Township, helping to train and certify young officers in commercial vehicle inspection.
One of the Waynesburg officers, Shawn Wood, kept in touch with Bashioum long after receiving the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program certification last year.
“I have no idea where to begin. I’m numb,” Wood said hours after learning the news. “I don’t know what to think and am just trying to get through it. He’s a great guy. Did everything he could for us.”
They became “good friends” and stayed in touch, speaking weekly on the phone or through text messages whenever Wood had a question about the truck inspections.
“If there was ever any type of issue, he wouldn’t hesitate to get back to you to answer a question,” Wood said. “He still would walk us through it on the phone.”
A memorial to Bashioum was started outside the borough building soon after word of his death circulated in the community.
Geoffrey Staley did not know Bashioum but did have an encounter with Saieva, who arrested him for drunken driving about five years ago.
“They treated me like a human,” Staley said. “They never treated me unfairly. This is such a great police department.”
Billie Jo Lavulitis and Austin Dami stopped to place flowers.
“I just did it out of respect,” Lavulitis said.
Ed Sifinski, a retired member of the Canonsburg police department where he worked as an officer for 27 years, said he was devastated.
“You never think it will happen,” Sifinski said, adding that Bashioum joined the force after he retired. “Too many police officers are getting killed.”
Becky Travaglini said she did not know Bashioum.
“But in this town, we are all family,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if I didn’t know him.”
“Scott was a man dedicated to his family, friends, colleagues and community,” Kriznik said. “He was a man born to help others in need and to serve the public. He had a smile with a firm handshake. Today, we lost a true hero, because that is what he was.”
The Western Pennsylvania Police Benevolent Fund has started an Officer Scott Bashioum Children Fund. Donations, which are tax deductible, can be sent to the fund in care of Washington Financial, 160 E. Pike St., Canonsburg, PA 15317.