Names of 68 Law Enforcement Personnel Have Been Added to the New York State Police Officers Memorial at the Empire State Plaza in Albany

State Landmarks Will Be Illuminated Blue Tonight, May 6, To Remember the Fallen and Recognize the Service of Police Officers Across the State

Governor Kathy Hochul today honored the lives of 68 police officers from 11 departments who were remembered at the New York State Police Officers Memorial at the Empire State Plaza in Albany. The names of the fallen law enforcement personnel who sacrificed their lives in service to their fellow New Yorkers have been added to the memorial, which now includes the names of 1,908 police officers from 155 agencies across the State, and six federal agencies. The Governor also issued a proclamation designating May 6 as Police Memorial Day and directed State landmarks to be illuminated blue tonight in recognition of the service and sacrifice of police officers across the State.

“Today we honor the lives of the heroic men and women who took an oath to protect New Yorkers and lost their lives in the line of duty,” Governor Hochul said. “Day after day, our law enforcement officers and their families make the ultimate sacrifice in service of their communities, and I am deeply grateful to the brave individuals who dedicate their lives to keeping the public safe.”

The following landmarks will be illuminated blue tonight.

• 1 World Trade Center
• Albany International Airport Gateway
• Alfred E. Smith State Office Building
• Empire State Plaza
• Fairport Lift Bridge over the Erie Canal
• Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge
• Grand Central Terminal - Pershing Square Viaduct
• Kosciuszko Bridge
• Moynihan Train Hall
• MTA LIRR - East End Gateway at Penn Station
• Niagara Falls
• State Education Building
• State Fairgrounds – Main Gate & Expo Center
• The H. Carl McCall SUNY Building
• The “Franklin D. Roosevelt” Mid-Hudson Bridge

More than 500 law enforcement professionals, family members and friends attended the ceremony, during which Governor Hochul offered remarks.

Line of Duty Deaths

Genesee County Sheriff’s Office

Sergeant Thomas A. Sanfratello was working a special assignment detail at Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel when he responded to assist security officers with two disruptive patrons. While attempting to take one patron into custody, the other one attacked Sgt. Sanfratello. Both individuals fought the Sergeant, who collapsed during the struggle and died from the altercation. (March 10, 2024)

New York City Police Department

Detective Jonathan E. Diller was conducting an investigation in front of 19-19 Mott Avenue within the confines of the 101st Precinct in Queens when he was shot once in the abdomen, and he succumbed to the injury. (March 25, 2024)

New York State Police

Technical Sergeant John M. Grassia III, also a U.S. Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officer 2 and UH-60M pilot, died from a fatal helicopter crash while patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border. He had served in Kuwait and was assigned to Troop K, G, and, posthumously, the Aviation Division. (March 8, 2024.

Oswego County Sheriff’s Office

Deputy Cailee R. Campbell was responding to an emergency motor vehicle accident in the Town of Palermo, when her vehicle was struck, flipped and landed on its roof, as she traveled County Route 176 in the Town of Volney. She was unresponsive on scene and was transported to the Oswego Hospital Emergency Room where she was pronounced dead. (September 25, 2024)

Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office

Lieutenant Michael A. Hoosock searched for, and located, a vehicle that had fled a Syracuse Police Department traffic stop earlier in the day. As Syracuse Police arrived at the home where the car was parked, the sound of a rifle being racked echoed through the air. The officers set up a perimeter, and the suspect emerged from a neighboring home, ambushing Lt. Hoosock, who died from the attack. (April 14, 2024)

Syracuse Police Department

Police Officer Michael E. Jensen was investigating a driver who had fled a traffic stop when the suspect fired at responding officers, mortally wounding Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Hoosock and Officer Jensen who managed to return fire, while taking cover behind his patrol vehicle, before succumbing to the fatal injuries. (April 14, 2024)

Ground Zero-Related Illness Deaths

The names of officers who died from Ground Zero-related illnesses were first added to the Memorial in 2008. With the addition of 60 names this year, those deaths now total 504.

World Trade Center 9/11 Related Deaths

Nassau County Police Department

• Detective Lieutenant Christopher A. Cizmarik (December 27, 2023)
• Chief Kevin G. Canavan (June 30, 2024)
• Police Officer Philip J. Schifini (November 27, 2024)

New York City Police Department

• Detective Cliff Acosta (March 19, 2021)
• Sergeant Charles A. Afanasewicz (July 4, 2023)
• Chief Michael Ansbro (June 29, 2023)
• Lieutenant Salvatore W. Bertocci (March 20, 2023)
• Lieutenant James V. Buebendorf (January 28, 2023)
• Sergeant William A. Burkel (January 15, 2024)
• Lieutenant Raymond Buzzo (April 12, 2023)
• Detective Kenneth B. Campbell (July 25, 2024)
• Sergeant Yolanda Carberry (May 19, 2023)
• Sergeant Frank J. Cimmino (March 23, 2024)
• Detective William F. Clancy (November 26, 2021)
• Police Officer Gerard J. Coggins, Sr. (January 28, 2023)
• Detective Joseph S. Cordaro (November 7, 2022)
• Sergeant Leonard Davis (October 21, 2023)
• Lieutenant James T. Delaney (March 10, 2022)
• Sergeant Theresa H. Foiles (September 24, 2023)
• Detective Herbert Fonseca (January 21, 2024)
• Lieutenant Steven R. Galan (June 19, 2023)
• Police Officer Joseph P. Geschwind (May 17, 2023)
• Police Officer Jorge L. Gonzalez (May 11, 2020)
• Police Officer Gregory A. Green (February 9, 2021)
• Detective Peter J. Grzymalski (April 29, 2023)
• Police Officer Louis T. Haarstick (February 28, 2023)
• Sergeant Paul R. Hargrove (March 8, 2024)
• Detective Adam Jangel (April 16, 2023)
• Detective Kurt E. Jones (August 27, 2023)
• Police Officer John E. Kilpatrick (April 16, 2024)
• Police Officer Carlo S. Krecic (September 5, 2023)
• Police Officer Stephen M. Liell (December 30, 2022)
• Police Officer Brendan McGarry (April 14, 2022)
• Detective Scott A. McKenna (July 28, 2023)
• Police Officer William McNaughton (December 7, 2023)
• Police Officer Thomas W. Miller (February 22, 2023)
• Sergeant Wanda E. Negron (October 19, 2023)
• Chief Gerald Nelson (May 10, 2024)
• Captain Steven J. Paveglio (April 23, 2023)
• Police Officer Ronald Raskin (March 17, 2023)
• Detective Edwin Rodriguez (October 22, 2022)
• Detective Braulio Rosario (November 4, 2023)
• Police Officer Brian J. Rutherford (September 20, 2022)
• Police Officer Denis C. Ryan (October 11, 2022)
• Detective Hector J. Santiago (April 9, 2023)
• Sergeant Jack Santora (July 14, 2023)
• Police Officer Joseph M. Stillitano (March 21, 2024)
• Detective Jewel I. Todman-Phillip (June 23, 2020)
• Detective Michael Torrisi (August 13, 2013)
• Police Officer Randy Van Name (December 26, 2022)
• Lieutenant John S. Welch (April 6, 2023)
• Police Officer Alfred G. Williams (April 8, 2024)

New York State Environmental Conservation Police

• Lieutenant David J. McShane (January 23, 2024)

New York State Police

• Staff Sergeant Benedicto Albizu Jr. (May 9, 2024)
• Trooper Steven P. Bilodeau (August 22, 2024)
• Senior Investigator John L. Carey (October 24, 2024)
• Trooper Steven A. Tyrrell (February 7, 2024)

Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Police Department

• Police Captain John M. Collins (April 26, 2024)
• Police Officer Anthony J. Mezzacappa Jr. (May 14, 2024)

Town of Newburgh Police Department

• Sergeant William E. McLean III (May 5, 2024)

Two historical deaths were also added to the memorial.

Monroe County Sheriff’s Office

• Deputy Sheriff Lewis Miles was summoning a jury when he suffered a fatal heart attack. (October 6, 1885)

Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Police Department

• Police Officer Anthony M. Varvaro was reporting to work as a member of the security detail for the 21st commemoration of 9/11 when he was fatally struck by a vehicle. (September 11, 2022)

Day after day, our law enforcement officers and their families make the ultimate sacrifice in service of their communities, and I am deeply grateful to the brave individuals who dedicate their lives to keeping the public safe.”

Governor Hochul

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.

New York State Division of Criminal Justice Commissioner Rossana Rosado said, “Our hearts and condolences are with the families and loved ones of these courageous police officers who devoted their lives to protecting their fellow New Yorkers. Their sacrifice exemplifies the highest ideals of public service, and we are profoundly grateful. We join to honor their legacy today and ensure their memory lives on through all the days to come.”

New York State Office of General Services Commissioner Jeanette Moy said, “On this solemn occasion, we join Governor Hochul in honoring the sacrifices of those keepers of the peace who gave their lives in service to New Yorkers. We at OGS are proud of our role as caretakers of the New York State Police Officers Memorial, which pays tribute to the courage and dedication of fallen police officers while providing their families, colleagues, and friends a space for solitude and reflection.”

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, Police Conference of New York 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 Hendry, and Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association Chapter President Andrew Rakowsky.

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. Follow DCJS on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).