Retired Nassau PD commissioner Kane, 73, dies
Nassau County's highest ranking police commanders were gathered Wednesday at a luncheon organized by retired police commissioner Donald F. Kane to recognize some newly appointed commanders, and, strangely, Kane himself was late.
One of those attending, Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey, received a telephone call that Kane, who had a history of heart problems, was on his way by ambulance to Syosset hospital. A short time later, he received a second call: Kane, 73, Nassau commissioner from 1992 to 2000, had died.
"He promoted me in 1995 to captain," Mulvey said. "He was my mentor and my good friend. . . . Don was an 'old school' kind of guy."
Kane was born in Brooklyn and grew up on Long Island. He earned a master's degree from the C.W. Post Campus at Long Island University, and also graduated from the FBI National Executive Institute. After service in the Army in West Germany, Kane came back to Long Island where he had grown up, and became a Nassau patrolman in 1959. Over three decades, he served in several posts in both the patrol and detective divisions, and was promoted to commissioner by then-County Executive Thomas Gulotta in June 1992.
Kane was known as a tough administrator. "If you were a worker and gave that kind of effort, your work could advance," recalled Mulvey, "but if you were a slacker, you were in for a tough time. He did not accept mediocrity."
But while he often appeared stern, he enjoyed the company of his colleagues. "If you know Don Kane, as we do, this is kind of the way he would want us to see him go out," said Mulvey. "He enjoyed that social aspect of police work. . . . Leave it to him to arrange a lunch, and have us all together when he passed away."
During Kane's time as commissioner, the county's overall crime rate declined about 37 percent, police officials said. But it was also a time marked by a string of notorious crimes that gathered national attention, such as the 1992 shooting of Mary Jo Buttafuoco by Amy Fisher and the Long Island Rail Road train massacre a year later.
Under Kane's stewardship, the department converted to a steady-tour work schedule for the patrol force - a sweeping change that stabilized work hours for officers. He presided over the introduction of random drug testing for officers, modern-day bicycle patrols and an active Crime Stoppers program.
Nassau County experienced severe financial problems during Kane's tenure, and he was called upon to tighten spending, often clashing with the leadership of the Nassau Police Benevolent Association.
Gary DelaRaba, PBA president at the time, said Wednesday, "We didn't always see eye to eye on different issues, but he was a cop's cop at the end of the day. He cared about the job. He cared about the future of the job."
Regarding their differences, "I'm certain they were very important at the time to me, and I'm sure they were very important at that time to him, but right now I really don't remember. . . . I'll miss him."
In an interview, at the time of his retirement, Kane said, "I didn't have any burning desire" to be a police officer. But after 41 years, he said, "I don't have any regrets. I can tell you with all honesty that I never, ever, came to work when I didn't look forward to it."
A resident of Syosset, Kane is survived by his wife, Audrey, and three children. Arrangements were incomplete Wednesday.
Posted Wednesday, June 24, 2009
PBA In The News
Editorials
