NYPD officer Eddie Byrne's bullet-covered police car – executed by a drug dealer while he was sitting – was brought back to life by some of the police officers who were on duty that night 40 years ago Ma, the post learned.
Young officers can learn about Byrne, 22, as the estimated $30,000 restoration effort is a labor of love for the 12 retired officers who ask the NYPD to install cars at Queens Police Academy. A criminal case of a drug dealer on February 26, 1988, when he was murdered.
“They wanted all police officers to fear doing the dangerous work we do,” said Detective Scott Munro of the Criminal Donation Association, who helps the union fund the work. . “It didn't work. This car tells everyone everywhere that each of us has an Eddie Byrne with us every day.”
A hole from the bullet that tores the passenger's side door remains in the vehicle as a symbol of Byrne's sacrifice.
As held as possible evidence, the Blue 1987 Chevrolet Caprice sat in the Red Hook warehouse for about ten years. Meanwhile, it was damaged by floods from Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and burned to the fire 10 years later.
Today, the police car fades to light blue, and its roof and hood have changed to a rusty orange hue. The tires are not running and are worn out by forklifts for inspection.
“The roof has fallen into itself from being exposed to elements over the past 20 years,” said retired Detective Jay Caputo, one of the police officers leading the preservation effort.
“The taillights melted, and the light bar above melted from the fire,” Caputo said, pointing to the roof of his car on Wednesday when he visited Auto Pond in Brooklyn's Ellie Basin.
“The car is still standing, so God has to still be watching over Eddie,” Kaputo added.
Retired NYPD DET. Det with Michael Silaco, who quit his job in 2005. Sergeant. John Schwartz, who left in 2010, is one of the 10-12 retired NYPD and Nassau County police officers who work that night after moving to a store on Long Island.
“I was doing midnight and when I heard a radio run of a police shot at a 103 precinct,” Siraco recalled the night Byrne was killed.
He and the other officers soon began hunting for the suspect.
“We were looking for cutlas,” he said. “At the time I didn't know that Eddie had passed away.”
Schwartz had just left his job, but he returned to hear that Blue's brother was shot.
“We turned Queens over looking for these guys,” Schwartz said.
The four murderers, Philip Copeland, Todd Scott, Scott Cobb and David McClary, were eventually captured and imprisoned.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tish pointed out that Byrne was “just 22 years old when his life was taken away while protecting the New Yorker.”
“The restoration of Officer Byrne's police car will serve as a tribute to his sacrifice and a respect for the NYPD's commitment to never forget the memories of our fallen officer,” the commissioner said.
The work is funded by donations from the NYPD Police Foundation and the Nassau County Police Department and is home to the Detective Fund Association.
