Hero's Send-Off for a Fallen NYCPD Officer

New York City declared the day Lieutenant Joe Petrosino was buried a holiday, so all those who wanted to pay their respects, could.  On April 12, 1909, over 250,000 people paid their respects to the fallen New York City Police Department Officer, who was killed in the line of duty, and who had an amazing 25 year career with the NYCPD.

They lined the streets from Old St. Patrick's Cathedral to Calvary Cemetery. They watched the procession of hearse, widow, relations, friends, colleagues, Police Units, Fire-Fighters, Italian-American Associations, Civic Groups, school children, and the Police Band playing Verdi's Requiem.  They stood for 5 and 1/2 hours.

They told reporters covering the event of Joe Petrosino's heroism and of how he'd touched their lives.  They stood together to show their disgust for the organized-crime cowards who had taken Joe Petrosino's life at the age of 48, leaving behind a grieving widow and a daughter only a few months old. 

Crime Fighting Career - The Right Stuff of Heroes

Joe Petrosino was born part of that 1% of us who has the rare combination of a great capacity for human empathy, and a capability of using force when necessary, when the other 99% would turn and run for their lives.  To put it bluntly, in these rare people, when faced with aggression, the 'pissed-off' response far out-weighs the 'piss-in-your-pants' response.  His rugby-player physique and strength served him well.

That rare combination is the stuff of heroes. The tough good-guy is the stuff of lore and every action hero story ever told.  But Joe Petrosino was the real thing.  And the people of New York City knew it, and they knew how lucky they were to have him on the streets protecting them.

Joe Petrosino was not only a tough cop, he was also a smart cop.  He recognized that crime-fighting required more than brute force and reacting to crimes committed.  Petrosino pioneered techniques that are considered standard-operating-procedure today in the fight against organized criminal gangs.

• He set up the first Bomb-Squad in the U.S. to study the bombs used by the gangs to intimidate their extortion victims.  His team learned to traced the components and the bomb makers.

• He set up the U.S.'s first Organized-Crime-Task-Force called the Italian Squad (later the Italian Legion), to study and infiltrate the gangs.  He had his team chart the organizations and trace all their connections, illegitimate and legitimate.  

• He set out their strategy of disrupting the gangs' systems from all sides to make their operations unprofitable, relying on intra-agency cooperation, which was very rare in those days.  They worked closely with Customs and Immigration officers, and with the Treasury Department's Secret Service agents.

• He stressed the need to put away the gang leaders for any crime they could link to them, from murder, to tax evasion, to jay-walking, to illegal immigrant status, all in an effort to disrupt the gang's growth and to promote in-fighting in the illegal organizations, which provided a steady stream of informants.

• His group set up a vast network of informants, paid and un-paid.  He pioneered witness protection and intelligence-gathering programs to gain inside information into the crime groups. 

• He stressed the need for infiltration of the organizations to gain first-hand information.  He was famous for having a closet full of disguises, everything from a newly arrived Italian immigrant outfit, to a priest, to a Hasidic Jew.

Martyr to Justice and Civil Society

On March 12, 1909, Joe Petrosino was lured by an informant to an ambush.  He was shot dead in a square in Palermo, Sicily.  

Petrosino was in Sicily on orders from the NYC Police Chief, to uncover information that would allow for the deportation of hundreds of organized crime foot-soldiers from New York City back to Italy.  

He was well on his way to accomplishing his task, which is the direct reason he was killed, as were, later, several of his colleagues who continued the work.  

It was later determined that the NYC Police Chief, through incompetence, put Petrosino in danger by sending him on such an exposed mission, and compounded that danger by detailing it to the press beforehand.

A Moving Tribute

Far and away the most moving tribute to Joe Petrosino is, in my humble opinion, the one on The Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc site.  The reflections left by other officers and admirers show how one man can make a difference, and inspire others, even when his life is cut short by cowards.  I found this simple message left by a fellow officer the most poignant: 

"Rest in peace Brother Joseph, you are a true hero and will never be forgotten."

Amen to that.

Lieutenant Joe Petrosino, NYCPD

Born 1861  -  Died 1909, age 48

Click here to go to my full article on Lieutenant Joe Petrosino