Ceremony on Thursday, 35th Anniversary of Bloody Brinks Robbery

NYACK, NY — Thursday marks the 35th anniversary of the bloody $1.6 million Brinks Robbery. This year’s annual remembrance ceremony will take place at 4 p.m. to honor Sgt. Edward O’Grady, Officer Waverly “Chipper” Brown, and guard Peter Paige.

The event will take place at the Mountainview entrance to the New York State Thruway just off Route 59. Sheriff James Kralik, one of several officers working that day, will be the keynote speaker. There will be a wreath laying, rifle salute, pipes and drum and a police guard of honor.

Paige, a Brinks security guard, was shot and killed at the Nanuet Mall by members of the Black Liberation Army carrying out the armored car heist. Brown and O’Grady were gunned down near the New York State Thruway entrance in 1981 after stopping a U-Haul truck that was part of the getaway convoy.

In 2010, Patch.com asked retired South Nyack-Grand View Police Chief Alan Colsey to reflect on the day of the robbery, when he captured part of the Brinks gang in Nyack as they were fleeing. Here are his reflections.

Although the Nyack Police Department no longer exists, every year a memorial service at 4 p.m. on Oct. 20 at the site of the slayings brings together survivors of that day along with family members of the victims and hundreds of local, state, regional and national law enforcement officials. A scholarship named in honor of O'Grady and Brown is awarded annually to support Rockland County students seeking a career in law enforcement.

SEE ALSO:

• Killer's Death Stirs Memories of a Deadly October Day in Rockland
• Opposing Clemency for Brinks Robbery Driver Judith Clark
• Cuomo Denies Clemency Petition for Brinks Robbery Participant
• Brinks Robbery Mastermind Denied Parole

PHOTO/ Patch archives