Hochul honors 55 police officers who sacrificed their lives in service to their communities

New York state police officers memorial remembrance ceremony held at Empire State Plaza

√ Names of 55 officers have been added to memorial, which now recognizes 1,772 men and women from 150 police departments, sheriffs' offices & federal agencies

√ Hochul issues proclamation declaring May 9 as Police Memorial Day 

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday honored the lives of 55 police officers from eight police departments who were remembered at the New York state police officers memorial remembrance ceremony in Albany. The officers' names have been added to the memorial's black granite wall, which now includes the names of 1,772 men and women from 150 police departments and sheriffs' offices across the state and six federal agencies who sacrificed their lives in service for New Yorkers.

Hochul also issued a proclamation declaring May 9 as Police Memorial Day and directed state landmarks to be illuminated blue to recognize the sacrifice of the officers whose names are included on the memorial and to recognize the service of all police officers across the state.

"Every day, the selfless men and women in police departments across the state put their lives on the line to protect us, knowing they may not make it home," Hochul said. "Today, we honor these 55 police officers, and we join their loved ones in remembering their unwavering commitment and dedication to our safety."

Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado said, "Today we honor and remember police officers from across New York state who paid the ultimate price to keep us safe. May we never forget their bravery and courage. May we never forget the sacrifice they made to protect us all."

The following landmarks will be illuminated blue tonight:

• One World Trade Center
• Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge
• Kosciuszko Bridge
• The H. Carl McCall SUNY Building
• State Education Building
• Alfred E. Smith State Office Building
• Empire State Plaza
• State Fairgrounds – Main Gate and Expo Center
• Niagara Falls
• Albany International Airport Gateway
• MTA LIRR – East End Gateway at Penn Station
• Fairport Lift Bridge over the Erie Canal
• Moynihan Train Hall

This afternoon's ceremony recognized the sacrifice of 55 police officers who died from injuries they sustained on duty, or as the result of the coronavirus or Ground Zero-related illnesses.

Line of Duty Deaths

•NYPD

√ Det. Wilbert Mora was shot when he responded to a call reporting a domestic dispute in an apartment at 119 West 135th St., Harlem. (Jan. 23, 2022)

√ Det. Jason Rivera was shot when he responded to a call reporting a domestic dispute in an apartment at 119 West 135th St., Harlem. (Jan. 21, 2022)

•Rochester Police Department

√ Police officer Anthony P. Mazurkiewicz and officer Sino Seng were conducting surveillance in an unmarked vehicle while in plainclothes when they were ambushed and fired upon by the suspect. Mazurkiewicz, who was in the driver's seat, sustained a fatal gunshot wound. His partner, Seng, was struck with a non-fatal wound and was able to return fire. The suspect fled the scene and was hiding in a vacant house when he was located by responding officers while and taken into custody. (July 21, 2022)

•Yonkers Police Department

√ Det. Sgt. Frank D. Gualdino was driving his police vehicle while in uniform to supervise officers on traffic detail when he was struck head-on by another vehicle. (Dec. 1, 2022)

The following officers died as a result of exposure to the coronavirus. The names of the officers who died due to COVID-19 were first added to the memorial in 2021; the memorial now contains the names of 25 officers:

•NYPD

√ Police officer David A. Mathura (March 6, 2022)

√ Police officer Daniel J. Sanchez (Jan. 19, 2022)

√ Police officer Leonard Swanson (Feb. 5, 2022)

•Nassau County Police Department

√ Det. Hector M. Nunez (Dec. 8, 2021)

√ Det. Charles C. Vroom IV (Sept. 12, 2021)

•Niagara Falls Police Department

√ Lt. Kristina M. Zell (Nov. 7, 2022)

Ground Zero-Related Illness Deaths

The following officers died from illnesses resulting from their work at Ground Zero in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. The names of officers who died from Ground Zero-related illnesses were first added to the Memorial in 2008 and now total 380.

•New York State Police

√ Sgt. F. Brent Chomyszak (Aug. 23, 2022)

√ Maj. Roderick C. Covington (March 31, 2022)

√ Trooper Scott P. Enser (March 20, 2021)

√ Trooper Joseph J. Mecca Jr. (Dec. 2, 2020)

√ Sgt. Ivan M. Morales (Oct. 28, 2022)

√ Trooper Michael R. O'Donnell (Dec. 24, 2020)

√ Sgt. James G. Sweeney (March 6, 2021)

•NYS Environmental Conservation Police

√ Lt. Paul C. Adam (Sept. 8, 2015)

√ Police officer Lawrence E. Cabana (Aug. 6, 2022)

√ Investigator Thomas J. Graham (Sept. 21, 2013)

•Port Authority Police of New York and New Jersey

√ Police officer Frederick G. Maley (July 17, 2022)

•NYPD

√ Police officer Chanda D. Barnes (April 25, 2021)

√ Sgt. Hugh Bartlett (Sept. 12, 2021)

√ Sgt. William P. Brautigam Jr. (Jan. 31, 2021)

√ Det. Barbara A. Burnette (Dec. 30, 2021)

√ Sgt. Pedro A. Candia (April 15, 2022)

√ Det. Enrico J. Crisafi (Nov. 28, 2021)

√ Det. Michael A. DeVecchis (Jan. 16, 2020)

√ Sgt. Cornelius J. Douglas (June 24, 2021)

√ Det. Pedro A. Foruria Sr. (Aug. 25, 2021)

√ Sgt. Michael S. Fuller (July 26, 2021)

√ Police officer Hector M. Gonzalez Jr. (April 7, 2021)

√ Det. Roland A. Gray (June 22, 2021)

√ Det. Patrick J. Hogan (Dec. 31, 2021)

√ Police officer John Horan (Dec. 18, 2020)

√ Det. Michael A. Houlahan (March 25, 2020)

√ Police officer Dennis J. Howard (Aug. 5, 2020)

√ Police officer Denise A. Jones (Sept. 6, 2021)

√ Police officer William M. Kelly (Oct. 3, 2021)

√ Det. Brian J. Maley (Feb. 17, 2021)

√ Det. George C. Moreno (July 30, 2021)

√ Det. Terence P. Mulvey (Dec. 1, 2021)

√ Police officer Thomas M. O'Reilly Jr. (June 17, 2021)

√ Det. Nicholas F. Ortiz (April 5, 2021)

√ Police officer Neil E. Porter (Oct. 7, 2021)

√ Police officer Laurence J. Prehn (Nov. 10, 2021)

√ Police officer Michael J. Reass (Sept. 21, 2021)

√ Police officer Steven L. Rodriguez (June 9, 2021)

√ Police officer Michael Romano (Jan. 16, 2021)

√ Det. Frank Rosado (Dec. 19, 2019)

√ Sgt. Christopher M. Tully (Aug. 14, 2021)

√ Police officer Matthew S. Von Seydewitz (Jan. 27, 2020)

√ Det. James M. Ward (Jan. 17, 2022)

•Nassau County Police Department

√ Police officer Robert D. Negri Jr. (Sept. 28, 2011)

√ Det. Matthew A. Perlungher (Aug. 4, 2021)

The State Division of Criminal Justice Services coordinates the ceremony and the work of the Police Officers Memorial Advisory Committee. The state Office of General Services maintains the memorial, and its commissioner also serves on the committee.

Division of Criminal Justice Commissioner Rossana Rosado said, "We gather to show our profound appreciation for the service and sacrifice of these brave men and women, and to express our heartfelt gratitude to the families and friends who live in the shadow of their loss every day. Thank you for sharing your loved ones and their legacy with your fellow New Yorkers. We are humbled by your presence here today and vow to always honor their memory."

Office of General Services Commissioner Jeanette Moy said, "The New York Police Officers Memorial honors individuals who have sacrificed their lives in the performance of their duty and ensures their courage, dedication and sacrifices are always remembered. We at OGS are proud of our role as caretakers of this special memorial and of providing a space where the families, friends and colleagues of our state's fallen officers can mourn their loss and pay tribute to their legacy as keepers of the peace in our communities."

The memorial is based on a design concept suggested by Colleen Dillon Bergman, the daughter of Emerson J. Dillon Jr., a 16-year veteran of the New York State Police who was killed in the line of duty in 1974. Bergman also suggested that the names of police officers be placed on the memorial without regard to rank. In a letter to the committee established to oversee the memorial's creation, she explained, "It doesn't matter from which department they came, the feeling of loss is experienced the same." Those words are engraved on the memorial.

Memorial Inclusion Criteria

To be included on the memorial, an individual must have been a police officer, as defined in the state's criminal procedure law, or employed as a federal law enforcement officer and performed the same or essentially similar duties as defined in that law. Applications to DCJS for inclusion on the memorial must be made by agencies that employed the officers.

In addition to commissioners Rosado and Moy, the following individuals serve on the Memorial Advisory Committee: New York State Troopers PBA President Charles Murphy, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Benevolent Associations President Michael O'Meara, New York State Association of Chiefs of Police Executive Director Patrick Phelan, New York State Sheriffs' Association Executive Director Peter R. Kehoe, Patrolmen's Benevolent Association of the City of New York President Patrick J. Lynch, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association Chapter President Andrew Rakowsky, and the Police Conference of New York President Richard Wells.

A press release stated, “The Division of Criminal Justice Services provides critical support to all facets of the state's criminal justice system, including, but not limited to: training law enforcement and other criminal justice professionals; overseeing a law enforcement accreditation program; ensuring Breathalyzer and speed enforcement equipment used by local law enforcement operate correctly; managing criminal justice grant funding; analyzing statewide crime and program data; providing research support; overseeing county probation departments and alternatives to incarceration programs; and coordinating youth justice policy.”

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