Calling on Bush to Continue His Father’s Commitment to NYPD by Daniel Donovan
Calling on Bush to Continue His Father’s Commitment to NYPD by Daniel Donovan
May 12th, 2008
On the morning of February 26, 1988, I was a law student in the night program at Fordham University working towards my dream of becoming a prosecutor. Like millions of other law-abiding New Yorkers, I awoke horrified by the news that Edward Byrne, a 22-year-old rookie police officer, was assassinated at point-blank range with five gun-shots to the head while sitting in a marked patrol car in front of the home of an immigrant from Guyana who had been reporting the activities of drug dealers in his Queens neighborhood of South Jamaica.
Four suspects were named in the assassination of Edward Byrne; they were apprehended within a week of the murder and were all eventually convicted. It was learned that the killing was ordered from jail by notoriously violent crack dealer Howard “Pappy” Mason, who is currently serving a life sentence at the federal “super max” prison in Florence, Colo.
Officer Byrne was but one of 1,896 murders recorded in our city that year, and one of seven police officers killed in the line of duty; but it was perhaps the most symbolic of a lawless city that was drowning in crime and urban decay.
So horrified was the nation by this murder that then-Vice President George H.W. Bush frequently referred to Byrne’s assassination when he attacked “soft on crime” positions of liberal politicians such as his opponent in that year's presidential election, Gov. Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts. Officer Byrne's father, Matthew—himself a retired NYPD lieutenant—presented Vice President Bush with his late son's shield, as a reminder of his campaign promises to law enforcement. It was a prescient message which Mr. Bush rode to a landslide election, carrying 40 states.
With George H.W. Bush leading the way, the U.S. Justice Department created the Edward Byrne Memorial Grant Program. Over the two decades since his death, billions of dollars in aid have flowed to municipalities to assist law enforcement in combating the murderous thugs who once made our cities unlivable and claimed the lives of heroes like Officer Byrne.
In light of George H.W. Bush's leadership on this issue and commitment to the family of Edward Byrne, it is ironic that his son, President George W. Bush, has proposed gutting the Byrne grant program in his new budget, as well as the COPS grant, which has provided funding to hire new cops for the already depleted NYPD.
According to information provided to my office by Sen. Charles Schumer, who is leading the effort to restore the grant funding, New York has received over $200 million in Byrne grant funding since 2000, while our share of COPS grant money has amounted to $609 million since its 1993 inception.
Twenty years have passed since Police Officer Edward Byrne's tragic execution on the streets of the 103rd Precinct. Since 1990, murder in that precinct has declined by over 78 percent, nearly identical to the decline across our city. Those thousands of lives saved are the legacy of Edward Byrne and are proof that he did not die in vain.
Our prosecutors will continue to work hand-in-hand with the NYPD to fight any retreat to the “bad old days” of 1988. Now, we need President George W. Bush to continue the commitment his father made to the family of Edward Byrne.
Four suspects were named in the assassination of Edward Byrne; they were apprehended within a week of the murder and were all eventually convicted. It was learned that the killing was ordered from jail by notoriously violent crack dealer Howard “Pappy” Mason, who is currently serving a life sentence at the federal “super max” prison in Florence, Colo.
Officer Byrne was but one of 1,896 murders recorded in our city that year, and one of seven police officers killed in the line of duty; but it was perhaps the most symbolic of a lawless city that was drowning in crime and urban decay.
So horrified was the nation by this murder that then-Vice President George H.W. Bush frequently referred to Byrne’s assassination when he attacked “soft on crime” positions of liberal politicians such as his opponent in that year's presidential election, Gov. Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts. Officer Byrne's father, Matthew—himself a retired NYPD lieutenant—presented Vice President Bush with his late son's shield, as a reminder of his campaign promises to law enforcement. It was a prescient message which Mr. Bush rode to a landslide election, carrying 40 states.
With George H.W. Bush leading the way, the U.S. Justice Department created the Edward Byrne Memorial Grant Program. Over the two decades since his death, billions of dollars in aid have flowed to municipalities to assist law enforcement in combating the murderous thugs who once made our cities unlivable and claimed the lives of heroes like Officer Byrne.
In light of George H.W. Bush's leadership on this issue and commitment to the family of Edward Byrne, it is ironic that his son, President George W. Bush, has proposed gutting the Byrne grant program in his new budget, as well as the COPS grant, which has provided funding to hire new cops for the already depleted NYPD.
According to information provided to my office by Sen. Charles Schumer, who is leading the effort to restore the grant funding, New York has received over $200 million in Byrne grant funding since 2000, while our share of COPS grant money has amounted to $609 million since its 1993 inception.
Twenty years have passed since Police Officer Edward Byrne's tragic execution on the streets of the 103rd Precinct. Since 1990, murder in that precinct has declined by over 78 percent, nearly identical to the decline across our city. Those thousands of lives saved are the legacy of Edward Byrne and are proof that he did not die in vain.
Our prosecutors will continue to work hand-in-hand with the NYPD to fight any retreat to the “bad old days” of 1988. Now, we need President George W. Bush to continue the commitment his father made to the family of Edward Byrne.
