Manchester Police award Purple Heart to late captain shot by sniper

Nov. 13—Capt. Evangelos Xiggoros wasn't even supposed to be there that day.

On New Year's Eve 1977, a fellow officer wanted to attend a function, so the 54-year-old Xiggoros took his shift. That was the first domino in a series of inexplicable events that led to a sniper — who happened to be a family friend — changing the trajectory of his life.

A gunman fired three shots from a high-powered rifle from the bathroom of a third-floor apartment across the street. Bullets shattered the police station's window, ricocheted into the lobby, with one striking Xiggoros in the back and the other injuring a Manchester woman seeking help after her son threatened her with a gun in an unrelated incident.

The captain survived after surgery at Catholic Medical Center. But he never fully recovered and the injury forced his retirement.

He died five years later.

Xiggoros's son, Gregory, accepted a Police Purple Heart on his behalf Wednesday as the Manchester Police Department honored several officers past and present for their service.

"The hard part was also that we knew the sniper, a family friend who did not know he was shooting at my father," Gregory Xiggoros said. "He actually had come to the Police Department to speak to my father. My father wasn't available, and the police shooed him away. He went back to his apartment, supposedly, and took drugs and started shooting from his aunt's apartment."

Gregory Xiggoros, who grew up in Manchester and now splits his time in Florida, New York and Hampton, was in college at the time of the shooting and woke up to the news of his father's serious injuries.

"My father wasn't supposed to be working that night," he said. "His office was bulletproof, but nobody was at the front desk when a woman came in, in a panic. My father left his office and that's why the bullet could penetrate through the Police Department and hit both him and the woman.

"It was a matter of circumstance. I mean, who would have thought?" he asked.

Gregory Xiggoros said the shooting was traumatic for his family, but the community response has stayed with him.

"I remember the wake. We stood in line from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. without a break. Police had to cordon off blocks and blocks around the funeral parlor because of the turnout," he said. "Even today, when I come back to Manchester, I always run into somebody who has a story about my father."

After an investigation and manhunt, the sniper, Thomas H. Theodosopoulos, 22, was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted manslaughter. The other shooting victim, 37-year-old Dorothy Perrault, recovered from a gunshot wound to her upper arm.

Police at the time said Theodosopoulos was upset about parking tickets, according to a wire story that made The New York Times.

Police Chief Allen Aldenberg said the incident is a reminder of how even "routine days" for police officers can be dangerous.

"It's another example that you never know what your day is going to turn into," he said.

More recognition

During the ceremony, Aldenberg also awarded the MPD's Life Saving Medal to Officer Jeffrey Hennessy and Detective Brendan Langton, the Meritorious Unit Citation to Officers Christian Coughlin, Patrick Hare, Jeffrey Hennessy and Photios Vougias, and the Chief's Achievement Medal to Detective Raymond Lamy.

He said they're all examples of the dedicated men and women who protect and serve Manchester.

"I say it all the time. Listen, we're not a perfect PD, but man, we have a lot of good people working here," Aldenberg said. "At a moment's notice, they'll put themselves in harm's way to protect others."

Three new Manchester officers were also sworn in for the department Wednesday — Brandon Baliko, Kalei Chase and Andrew Hubbard.