Forty-Two Names Added to New York City Police Memorial

Hundreds of cops, friends, family, Mayor Adams and others came to The New York City Police Memorial in Battery Park City on Tuesday Oct. 15 to pay tribute to NYPD officers who have died in the line of duty. The weather for the event was rather brisk, with morning temperatures in the 50s feeling a bit colder in the absence of direct sunlight.

The New York City Police Memorial is located at Liberty Street and South End Avenue and was dedicated on October 20, 1997. A $2 million renovation of the site opened in July 2022 and the names chiseled on the granite walls include victims of 9/11, COVID and the 9/11 related illness.

This year’s ceremony honored the addition of 42 officers who died between 2017 and 2023. Of that number, all but two of the deaths were from 9/11-related illnesses.

The emcee of the event was Lt. Jack Conway of the NYPD Ceremonial Unit. Joining him on the dais were Raju Mann, President and CEO of the Battery Park City Authority; Mayor Adams; Interim Police Commissioner Thomas Donlon; NYPD Chief of Department, Jeffrey Maddrey; First Deputy Commissioner, Tania Kinsella; and Assistant Chief Chaplain, Monsignor Robert J. Romano.

“When we come here today, we come here to acknowledge the [42] individuals and heroes who died from long-standing 9/11 injuries and our two officers who died from being a victim of gun violence. We’re saying from 1849 the continuation of really acknowledging what they mean to our city and our country,” said Hizzoner.

The two cops who died decades after being the victims of gun violence were Detective Lawrence J. Bromm, of the 78th Precinct, who was shot in downtown Brooklyn in 1977 and remained paralyzed until his death in 2022; and Detective Troy Patterson, of the 60th Precinct, who was shot in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, in 1990, and was largely comatose until his death in 2023.

“This is the greatest country on the globe and this is the greatest city on the globe because of their sacrifices,” the Mayor continued.

“And although we lost them physically, spiritually still hover over this city, hover over the men and women of the law enforcement community in this city and across this entire nation. We pray for their families. Burns cannot take away the pain. Every birthday, every holiday, every time you hear a name that’s similar, every time you see a police vehicle, you relive the pain and agony. But we want you to know the family still remembers them.”

Interim Police Commissioner Donlon—despite week-old rumors that he’d be imminently replaced—spoke next, with an eloquence and sincerity reflective of his long career in law enforcement.

“Every name on this wall represents a life of service but also so much more. They were sons, daughters, fathers, mothers and wives. They came from different backgrounds but they shared at least one thing in common. They all swore an oath to protect others when they first joined our NYPD family. Despite the very real risks they faced, they chose to serve. And the public needs to fully understand their dedicated efforts which continue on a daily basis.”

The most recent Manhattan police officers killed in the line of duty were officers Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora of the 32nd Precinct in Harlem, both of whom were shot during a January 21, 2022, domestic violence call.

Among the historic Manhattan names one can find on the Memorial are Officers Michael Buczek and Christopher Hoban, both of whom were killed in separate, drug-dealer-related incidents on October 18, 1988; and Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino, a member of the NYPD “Italian squad” who was shot to death by mafiosi in Palermo, Sicily on March 12, 1909.

In 1987, Kenmare Square, a small triangular park bounded by Cleveland Place, Lafayette and Kenmare Streets downtown, was renamed Petrosino Square in his honor.