POLICE YSU lodge honors 2 officers who died in line of duty

Flags were flown over the U.S. Capitol building in honor of the men.
Plaques remembering two Youngstown State University police officers who died in the line of duty were unveiled by the YSU Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 200 on Tuesday at the campus police station.
William Comm, known as Bud, and Carmen Renda Jr., known as Skip, died after foot chases. Comm, 41, started working at YSU in 1969 and died Aug. 12, 1975. Renda, 45, was hired in 1987 and died March 16, 1996.
The plaques, in the lobby of the police department building on West Wood Street, depict university police badges bearing the officers' names and the date their duty ended. Also at the unveiling ceremony family members of Comm and Renda were presented with American flags that were flown over the U.S. Capitol building in honor of the men, and with resolutions naming the men members of the YSU FOP Lodge.
Officer Comm
Comm was hired by YSU when the police department was still called the security department and also had served as a Boardman police officer.
On Aug. 12, 1975, he and another officer arrested a male matching the description of a subject who had been smashing car windows on Arlington Street. The officers had seen him throw a trash can through a door at Kilcawley Center, and the arrest came after a foot pursuit.
Shortly after the arrest, Comm began complaining of chest pains and was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center, where he died. He was survived by his wife, Sharon, sons William Jr. and Michael, and daughter, Bonnie.
Renda, previously a Youngstown city police officer, was working traffic control on Fifth Avenue during a university event March 16, 1996. At 4:13 p.m., he received a report regarding someone tampering with university property on Fifth Avenue. Renda spotted the subjects, chased them on foot and stopped them. They were released with a warning.
About three hours later, when dispatchers tried to contact Renda, there was no response. Another officer later found him unconscious in his vehicle shortly before 8 p.m. He was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center, where he was pronounced dead. He was survived by his wife, Janice, and daughter, Pamela.