Assassinations

Assassinations

 

There were three important assassination attempts during this time period.

The first involved two Police officers, Curry and Benedetti of the 26th precinct which is south of the 30th. They were assigned to guard the residence of District Attorney Frank Hogan on Riverside drive. They were machine gunned down but somehow they survived but never were the same. Curry’s older brother was a seasoned homicide detective in the 30th.

Next, the deaths of Patrolman Waverly Jones and Joseph Piagiantini, Greg Foster and Rocco Laurie are similar. The two Black officers were shot in the back of their heads causing instant deaths. Also the were shot because they were Black. The two white officers were shot multiple times in both their testicles and eyes, sending a message. Eyewitness accounts recorded how the two pleaded for their lives.

Now this was the Police Department Pearl Harbor and every officer was on alert. The Chief of Detective mobilized a 100 man task force to hunt down the killers. In the Patrolman Jones and Piagiantini case which occurred in the neighboring 32nd precinct multiple arrests were made and brought to the 30th for interrogation.

As is always the case good old fashioned detective work would lead to the arrests and sometimes the deaths of these killers. I was amazed to learn that one of the killers was a former Marine who had been radicalized. Some of the members of the Black Liberation army actually lived in the 30th.

Now down the street on W. 158th Street and Broadway on December 6, 1971 there was an armed robbery of the Harlem Savings Bank by members of the Black Liberation army. This incident involved a shootout with both a 30th Precinct sergeant and his driver. We the police were now the target as described in deputy commissioner Robert Daley’s book, Target Blue.

No police officer ever considers himself or herself a hero.

The 30th Precinct is located on the west side of upper Manhattan, to the east is the 32nd Precinct. It is lower in topography and called the Valley. One day I had to bring some communications to this Precinct and when you walk in you are humbled immediately, for there are 10 memorial photos of officers who have died in the line of duty. One of the most recent was for a senior officer who used to stop in a liquor store to say good night to the owner. He was shot as the store was being robbed. Sadly he was eligible for retirement. During my 10 years at the 30th Precinct, no office died in the line of duty, also there were no memorial photos.

A check reveals that the 32nd Precinct holds the grim NYC record of 27 police officers killed in the line of duty since 1900.

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