Thousands Honor Slain Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo at Funeral

A casket holding New York Police Department Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo was carried into St. Rose of Lima Church in Massapequa on Thursday as thousands of uniformed officers looked on to honor the Greenlawn resident who was shot and killed in the line of duty last week in the Bronx.

During the funeral service, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio honored Tuozzolo for his actions, calling him a "good man who was protecting all of us."

"Tuozzolo was a hero by any definition," de Blasio said. "On his final act on this earth, he served in an exemplary fashion.”

In fact, Ed Mullins, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, said Tuozzolo saved another responding sergeant's life moments before he was killed.

Tuozzolo was one of several officers responding to a 911 call about a man violating of an order of protection by holding his 29-year-old estranged wife and two children at gunpoint inside a house in Parkchester. While en route, dispatchers advised responding officers the man had left in a red Jeep, and police officers pursued.

Tuozzolo spotted the man’s vehicle less than half a mile from the scene. Despite knowing the suspect probably still had a gun on him, Tuozzolo and other officers approached the vehicle. What happened next was a “tragic chain of events,” NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill said.

Sgt. Emmanuel Kwo told Mullins he was approaching that car too, but he didn’t see what Tuozzolo saw. “I would’ve continued to approach that car just as Paul did, but Paul’s final words were a warning to me and my partner,” Kwo told Mullins. “He yelled to us, ‘Gun! Gun! Gun!'”

Tuozzolo was fatally shot in the head. Kwo was also shot in the leg but survived his injuries, police said.

The suspect, 35-year-old Manuel Rosales, was shot and killed by officers. Rosales, who was living in Brentwood, had been arrested 17 times, police said.

“[Tuozzolo] laid down his life for his friends,” de Blasio said. “There is one fewer dangerous person on the streets today because Sgt. Tuozzolo stepped forward to fight the evil around us.”

O'Neill honored Tuozzolo by awarding him a posthumous promotion Thursday from Sergeant to Sergeant of Special Assignment for his actions. Those inside the church erupted with applause to this announcement. “It was the least we could do,” he said.

“Paul was everything you could wish for in a police officer: conscientious, hard working, selfless courageous, driven to protect,” O’Neill said at the funeral. “He wanted to live a life of significance, and he did.”

Tuozzolo joined the NYPD in December 1997. In June 2006, he was promoted to sergeant and left Manhattan to become a Bronx cop. “All of us who have worked in the Bronx knows what that means,” O’Neill said.

The 19-year officer had one year left to serve before he could retire. He could have stayed inside and worked an office job, but he wanted to continue serving on patrol. “He wanted to end his career where he started it: working radio and keeping the public safe,” O’Neill said.

A few years later, between work and fatherhood, “he was really living out a dream,” O’Neill said. While working, he would always talk about his wife Lisa and his two young boys, Austin and Joseph, O’Neill said.

“He loved being a cop second to only being a husband and a father,” said O’Neill, whose voice started breaking at the end of his speech.

De Blasio, who also lost his father at a young age, addressed Tuozzolo’s two sons. “Everyday after we lost [my father,] I knew he was a hero,” he said. “I have always remembered him as a hero. And I know you will remember your dad as a hero.”

The two boys lost a father but gained a whole family in the NYPD, said NYPD Deputy Chief Chaplain Msgr. Robert Romano.

“We need to show that the life and the love of Paul was not taken away in vain, and hopefully that it will be an opportunity for us to see by his life, by his death and by his memory that we will always respect him for what we did, and we will respect all police officers who follow in his legacy," Romano said.

Outside of the church, thousands of officers, including representatives from every police precinct in New York, stood at attention to pay their respects. They were lined up along Merrick Road for more than three-quarters of a mile, from Ocean Avenue to Park Boulevard.

The officers were joined by local residents holding signs and waving flags in a show of support for the slain officer.

Several officers entered the church along with many of Tuozzolo’s family and friends. Among them were also family members of other officers who were killed in the line of duty.

The funeral procession was also well guarded. Officers in SWAT gear were posted along the procession route and atop nearby buildings. The funeral was a potential target because all of the top NYPD officials were in the same location, a NYPD representative said.

Motorcycle units from across New York drove past the officers at attention before the hearse carrying Tuozzolo was escorted into the church.

Following the funeral service, several NYPD helicopters flew over the crowd.

Since Tuozzolo's death, many a fund has been launched in his name to help support his wife and children. Donate to the “In Memory: NYPD Sgt Paul Tuozzolo” Fund here.

Tuozzolo was also honored by many groups and law enforcement agencies on his native Long Island, including the Huntington Police Department and the Greenlawn Fire Department.

The Town of Huntington painted a blue line on a local road in honor of Tuozzolo.

Photos via Patch