New York Honors 49 Police Officers Who Sacrificed Their Lives
New York State is honoring nearly 50 police officers who recently sacrificed their lives to serve New York State.
On Tuesday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul honored 49 New York police officers who sacrificed their lives to protect their communities.
"Every day, law enforcement officers across the state selflessly put their lives on the line to protect the public, and today we honor the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in order to keep New Yorkers safe," Hochul stated. "We remember their courage, bravery and dedication to public service, and we thank and honor their loved ones, who have endured tremendous loss. The legacies and family members of these fallen officers will never be forgotten."
The 49 officers are from six police departments. All will be forever remembered at the New York State Police Officers Memorial Remembrance Ceremony in Albany.
New York State Line of Duty Deaths
The following names added were officers who died in the line of duty.
New York State Police
- Trooper Joseph J. Gallagher (March 26, 2021)
- Sergeant James J. Monda (August 22, 2021)
NYPD
- Detective Anastasios Tsakos (April 27, 2021)
New York Police Officers Who Died From COVID
The following officers died from COVD:
NYPD
- Officer Leonardo M. Chavez (September 18, 2021)
- Officer Sony Clerge (August 20, 2021)
- Detective Stanley Dash (May 29, 2021)
- Officer Michael R. Mundy (April 28, 2021)
- Officer Marze M. Murray (October 21, 2021)
- Detective Shantay L. Neal-Baker (August 14, 2021)
- Officer Angel M. Santiago (March 28, 2021)
Sands Point Police Department
- Sergeant Joseph Spinosa (April 15, 2020)
Suffolk County Police Department
- Lieutenant Robert VanZeyl (January 20, 2021)
Town of Wallkill Police Department
- Sergeant Barry Weissman (January 23, 2021)
Yonkers Police Department
- Detective William J. Sullivan Jr. (April 11, 2020)
9/11 Related Deaths in New York
The final group of names was officers who died from illnesses from working at Ground Zero
Yonkers Police Department
- Officer Stanley J. Kasper (July 9, 2021)
NYPD
- Detective Jennifer S. Abramowitz (September 25, 2020)
- Sergeant Emanuele Alongi (June 27, 2020)
- Sergeant James P. Bast (January 14, 2020)
- Detective Gerald T. Brennan (July 14, 2020)
- Sergeant Nathalie Brill (June 2, 2021)
- Sergeant Thomas A. Byrne (March 31, 2021)
- Detective Leonard D. Cocco (June 12, 2020)
- Officer Terence P. Connelly (February 8, 2021)
- Officer Reginald Cooley (January 9, 2021)
- Officer George F. Darini (October 22, 2020)
- Detective Harry O. D'Onofrio (April 14, 2021)
- Officer Laurence J. Dougherty (May 26, 2020)
- Detective Thomas J. Gallo (October 31, 2020)
- Officer Pedro Garcia (March 17, 2020)
- Detective Peter Gianfrancesco (September 2, 2020)
- Detective Edward R. Gorczynski (August 26, 2020)
- Detective Valerie K. Jacobs (April 8, 2019)
- Detective Jewel Jenkins (May 24, 2020)
- Detective Emilio Laboy (May 9, 2020)
- Officer Raphael A. Lora (September 8, 2020)
- Officer Carl R. Ludwig (January 20, 2021)
- Detective Charlie W. Mackie (February 4, 2021)
- Officer Patrick G. Monroe (April 13, 2020)
- Detective Thomas L. Neal (May 18, 2020)
- Inspector Michael O'Neil (October 28, 2020)
- Officer Nicholas Purpero (February 20, 2021)
- Detective Mark H. Rawdon (May 23, 2020)
- Sergeant Mark Smith (October 2, 2020)
- Detective William Soto (November 17, 2018)
- Officer Andrew D. Stromfeld (March 29, 2021)
- Sergeant Nemesio Vera (December 3, 2020)
- Sergeant Peter C. Woods (January 9, 2021)
- Sergeant David T. Yu (July 17, 2020)
- Lieutenant John C. Zonneveld (July 10, 2020)
"These individuals lived their lives with purpose, bravery, and selflessness—their loss leaves an unfillable hole in the lives of countless loved ones, friends, and partners in law enforcement," Secretary of State Robert J. Rodriguez said. "We are forever in their debt as the men and women of this caliber sacrificed their lives to protect us and we honor their families who provided the support for these fallen officers to serve."
Their names have been added to the memorial which now includes the names of 1,717 men and women from 150 police departments across New York State.