JAMESTOWN, R.I. -- A Providence police officer known for being tough when he had to be but kind to his community was killed in a motorcycle accident while off-duty in Jamestown Saturday night.
John Reposa, Jr., was riding his motorcycle through the intersection of North Road and Westwind Drive when it collided with at car at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday, according to Jamestown police.
Reposa was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver and sole occupant of the car, Marijke Landon,44, of North Carolina was not injured, police said.
The accident remains under investigation.
"He was a very aggressive yet compassionate officer," Providence Police Chief Col. Hugh T. Clements, Jr. said Sunday afternoon. "He was adored by everyone in this department - and I mean every corner of the department -- as well as the community."
Reposa joined the department 19 years ago and has served in a number of capacities including the traffic division, narcotics and the motorcycle division, Clements said.
He was also a member of the Providence Police Honor Guard and more recently, the Police Pipes and Drums Corps.
"He had a big personality and a big heart," Providence Mayor Angel Taveras said Sunday. "He was well liked by the community and his fellow officers who named him 'All-City John' because he was always there to provide backup."
Reposa was currently assigned to a day patrol beat on the north side of the city.
Clements recalled the fact that last Christmas Reposa and a fellow officer got a new iPad for a young girl with autism whose own iPad had been stolen.
"That was truly him too," Clements said.