Nassau officers remembered at memorial
About 350 police officers from various departments attended the ceremony, which lasted more than an hour. Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano and District Attorney Kathleen Rice attended the event along with top police brass.
The mood was especially somber, with two police officers killed in the line of duty less than two months apart earlier this year. Until then, it had been 18 years since a Nassau County police officer was killed on the job.
This year, Geoffrey Breitkopf and Michael J. Califano's names were added to one of the two bronze plaques on a monolith at police headquarters that has the names of officers who have died.
Breitkopf, 40, of Selden, was a member of the force's Bureau of Special Operations. He was killed March 12 when a Metropolitan Transportation Authority police officer accidentally shot him in Massapequa Park, minutes after a knife-wielding suspect had been killed at the scene by Nassau officers, according to officials. The shooting is under investigation.
Califano, 44, of Wantagh, was a member of the force's Highway Patrol. He died Feb. 4 when a dozing truck driver struck his patrol car as he conducted a vehicle stop on the westbound Long Island Expressway, authorities said.
Califano's widow, Jackie, said she was overwhelmed by the event.
"My husband was not one to make a big deal out of himself," she said after the ceremony. "It was very moving."
During the ceremony, members of Breitkopf's family passed tissues to one another, wiping tears from their eyes. After, family members said they were too distraught to speak.
Posted Wednesday, May 18, 2011
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