Framingham Officer Dies After Battle With Cancer

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Longtime Framingham police officer Val Krishtal died this weekend after an 18-month-long battle with cancer, according to law enforcement sources. Krishtal was diagnosed in July 2018 after he was suddenly rushed to the hospital experiencing abdominal pain.

Krishtal, who was a father of three, was later diagnosed with stage four intestinal cancer. The 2019 Framingham police vs. firefighter game was held in his honor and to raise money for his chemotherapy treatments.

"Anyone who knew Val knew that he was 'blue through and through.' From the day he graduated the academy, and the first time he wore the Framingham uniform, every stop he made, every case that he worked, he was 100 percent 'blue,'" Framingham police wrote in a Facebook post. "He will be missed."

Krishtal joined Framingham police in 1997, and also served with the FBI Boston Organized Crime Task Force, according to his LinkedIn profile. In 2011, Krishtal arrested Barack Obama's uncle, Onyango Obama, after Obama hit Kristhal's police cruiser at a stop sign.

A GoFundMe fundraiser for Krishtal's medical costs is still raising money. As of Sunday, the fundraiser about was $13,000 shy of its $40,000 goal.