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NYC POLICE MEMORIAL 2008 CEREMONY
On Tuesday, October 14, 2008, sixteen names were dedicated on the NYC Police Memorial
located in Battery Park City. What made this particular ceremony unique was the fact that seven of those names are Auxiliary Police Officers
. The wall is inscribed with the names of seven hundred members of the NYPD who had been killed in the line of duty. Auxiliary Police Officers
are not employees of the City of New York. They are civilian volunteers who receive no pay for their services. Until now, Auxiliary Police Officers
who had lost their lives while volunteering in the service were not honored by having their names added to the honor roll of slain police officers.
The names of nine members of the NYPD were inscribed on the Memorial Wall:
PO James J. Godbee
PO Thomas G. Brophy
PO Ronald E. Weintraub
PO Angelo Peluso
Det. James Zadroga
Det. John T. Young
Det. Kevin G. Hawkins
Det. Robert W. Williamson
Det. Russell Timoshenko
Visit the NYPD Memorial Website here:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/home/memorial.shtml
The citizens of the City of New York and the members of the NYPD recall how two Auxiliary Police Officers in the confines of the 6th Precinct in Manhattan had been shot and killed as they tried to stop a killer who had murdered an employee of a pizza shop. It must be noted that Auxiliary Police Officers are not armed. They perform their duty in full uniform without a firearm. On March 14, 2007, APO Nicholas Pekearo and APO Eugene Marshalik
were on foot patrol when they heard the report over their portable radios and spotted the suspect on the corner of Sullivan and Bleeker Streets
in Greenwich Village. Knowing that the suspect was armed and had murdered the pizza employee, both officers confronted the suspect who punched APO Marshalik
and then began to flee from the stop. As both APOs began to chase the suspect, he turned with another firearm and opened fire on the unarmed officers. APO Pekearo
took cover behind a parked car, but the killer ran up and killed him with multiple shots. He then turned on APO Marshalik and
killed him as he attempted to take cover. Members of the 6th Precinct killed the suspect in a
firefight. The suspect was carrying two handguns and with over a hundred rounds of ammunition.
It is fitting that the names of Nicholas Pekearo and Eugene Marshalik
be listed among the members of the NYPD who have been killed in the line of duty. Five other names of Auxiliary Police Officers
who have lost their lives in the line of duty were also inscribed on the Memorial Wall:
A/ SGT David Freed
A/SGT Larry L. Cohen
A/SGT Noel R. Faide
APO Armando Rosario
APO Milton S. Clarke
I have written before that during my career with the NYPD, I had always feared for the safety of civilians who volunteer as Auxiliary Police Officers
. They perform their duty as unarmed volunteers in full uniform. The assassination of police officers in full uniform by terrorist groups was an all too common occurrence during the 70s.
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LtoR Ed Reuss with DI Raymond Caroli, Co, 6th Pct
I arrived before the commencement of the ceremony and had the opportunity to meet the new Commanding Officer of the 6th Precinct, Deputy Inspector Raymond Caroli
. Ray was a member of the 120th Precinct when I retired back in 1992. We reminisced about those days and I
congratulated him on his recent promotion. The 6th Precinct is fortunate to have a commander like Ray Caroli
. DI Caroli mentioned that the corner of Sullivan and Bleeker Streets will be dedicated to APO Pekearo and APO Marshalik in the near future. It is a fitting tribute to the valor of both men. The location is a short walk south of Washington Square Park and the NYU School of Law. Their names on the street signs will be a constant reminder to residents and visitors to Greenwich Village of their sacrifice.
LtoR NYPD Inspector Angelo Maroulis, APO DI Eric Wollman
Inspector Angelo Maroulis, CO, Auxiliary Police Section and Auxiliary Police Deputy Inspector Eric Wollman
were present at the ceremony.
LtoR: DI Ray Caroli, Ed Reuss, AC Raymond Diaz,
The Commanding Officer, Patrol Borough Manhattan North, Assistant Chief Raymond Diaz
was also present and he and I with Inspector Ray Caroli recalled the days that we worked together in the 120th Precinct
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LtoR: AC Diane Pizzuti, Ed Reuss, AC Ray Diaz
Assistant Chief Diane Pizzuti
was also present at the ceremony. AC Pizzuti has given women in
policng a role model to emulate. I met her briefly when she was a newly promoted captain of police. She hasn’t lost the common touch with people. She is an asset to the NYPD.
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