Fallen NYPD Detective Brian Simonsen Honored On LI: 'He Was My World'

RIVERHEAD, NY — When Detective Brian "Smiles" Simonsen, 42, of Calverton, died in February 2019 after being tragically shot by friendly fire while responding to a cell phone store robbery in Queens, the Riverhead community was cloaked in grief for a man remembered for his bright smile and caring heart.

His legacy, however, runs deep and lives on through the Detective Brian “Smiles” Simonsen Foundation, created to do good work in his name.

Last week, Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio and Assemblyman Jarrett Gandolfo met with Leanne Simonsen, Brian's widow, and his mother, Linda Simonsen, to present them with a legislative resolution passed by the Assembly in May honoring the foundation and Simonsen's forever imprint on the hearts of all he knew.

The Assembly wanted to express its "grateful appreciation in recognition of the charitable efforts of the Detective Brian 'Smiles' Simonsen Foundation and the lasting impacts of Detective Brian 'Smiles' Simonsen to his community, to the youth, and to the law enforcement family," the resolution said.

Simonsen was a 19-year veteran of the 102nd Precinct in Queens. He was "was off duty, selflessly responding to a robbery call," the resolution added. Nicknamed 'Smiles' for his contagious grin, cheerful disposition and the innate ability to positively influence everyone he met, Brian P. Simonsen was the epitome of goodness. The primary mission of the foundation is to never forget him and to 'do good' while spreading smiles," lawmakers said.

The foundation hosts and participates in fundraisers to raise money and buy safety gear for working dogs, award college scholarships to deserving students from Riverhead High School, and to benefit the marine rescue center in Riverhead, the resolution said.

In addition, lawmakers added, the foundation holds Youth Field Days.

"Brian P. Simonsen was always the first to step up and assist family, friends or strangers; he was kind, compassionate and loving, and found the best in everyone and everything; he adored his family, treasured his friends and coworkers but above all loved the life he made with his wife, Leanne," the resolution said. "Armed with a humanistic spirit and imbued with a sense of compassion, Brian P. Simonsen leaves behind a legacy which will long endure the passage of time and will remain as a comforting memory to all he served and befriended. He will be deeply missed."

When Simonsen died, thousands lined the streets of Hampton Bays for his funeral. A street was named for him near his childhood home in South Jamesport in 2019.

While he touched myriad lives through his life of service, Simonsen is forever mourned by those who loved him most.

Speaking with Patch, Simonsen's mother Linda spoke about the honor of the resolution. "It means that his memory is kept alive — and shows how well-loved he was," she said.

Linda said Simonsen's wife, Leanne "is doing a superb job with the foundation. She is remarkable."

Losing her son, Linda said, was unthinkable. "Brian, he was my world," she said. "My rock."

Linda had lost her daughter Melissa, 13, in 1992 when she was struck by a car in Riverhead, and her husband Paul, just six months after.

"Brian was only 16, but he was always there for me — always," she said.

When her son told her that he wanted to be a police officer, Linda said she felt a mother's fear.

"I told him, 'I'm happy, because that's what you want, and I wouldn't stand in your way.' Of course, whenever an officer was hurt or shot, I would call him, and he would say, 'I'm okay, Mom, don't worry.'"

Until the day when the call was about her own boy. "I was devastated," she said.

Reflecting on her son, Linda said: "He was one in a million. He had a huge personality and he just loved everyone — and everyone loved him."

She hadn't realized how much he'd done to help others, Linda said, until after her son's death.

One boy, who had been playing baseball outside her son's precinct, told Simonsen that he'd lost his mitt. "When Brian told him to ask his parents to buy another one, he told him that they didn't have the money — and my son went and bought him a new baseball mitt. It was stories like that, that Brian never told me about. He was not one to brag on himself."

She added: "He did those things from his heart. He was a remarkable person, a remarkable son, for sure. I love his wife Leanne dearly and I know he loved her very much, and vice versa. I was so glad he had a good, solid marriage. If your kids are happy, you're happy."

When she lost her daughter and husband in 1992, Linda said she was blindsided. "I thought, 'What am I going to do?'" she said. "I put my life into Brian. And he was always there for me."

Her son, when he learned that she had to be hospitalized, rushed to her side, Linda said. "He had a heart of gold," she said. "He was just an amazing person."

Not only hundreds of police officers attended her son's funeral, but friends from high school and college also flew from across the country. "At that point, I was so overwhelmed with grief," Linda said. "But after, I thought, 'They all took the time out of their lives to come to his funeral.'"

Her son, she said, "had a huge personality. He got that from his dad."

When her daughter died, Linda and her husband donated her organs. And years later, she learned that her son had also donated his — a forever gift of love.

Linda thanked the NYPD, for always being there for her family. "The NYPD has been phenomenal," she said. "If I called them now, they'd be right here."

Surviving the loss of her son, after the deaths of her daughter and husband, has not been easy, Linda said. "But I have a lot of support from family and friends who have been behind me the whole time. I can count my blessings there."

When asked how her son would feel about the huge outpouring of love after his death, Linda said: "I think he would say, 'Why are they making such a big deal?' He was the type, if he did something for you, he never expected anything in return. He did it from his heart. That always amazed me."

At the ceremony honoring Simonsen at Giglio's office Friday, his wife Leanne said the resolution meant everything. "Our goal is that Brian is never forgotten," she said.