The Cypress Hills Cemetery just announced it will host a 5K race to raise money for the family of slain Officer Peter Figoski in September. Facebook Photo
Slain NYPD Officer Peter Figoski will be honored with a 5K race in Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn this September, and the event will raise funds for the family of the decorated 22-year police veteran who was shot at the scene of an armed robbery in 2011.
Representatives from the cemetery recently announced that it will host the race at the 225-acre cemetery, located at 833 Jamaica Ave. – not far from where Figoski was shot in December of 2011.
The participant fee for the event on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 9 a.m. will be $25, and the money collected from the registrations, as well as donations, will go to support Figoski’s four daughters’ education.
Figoski, 47, for whose family Queens residents have held fundraisers across the borough – including in Lindenwood and Middle Village, was shot while responding to a robbery in progress in East New York with his partner, Officer Glenn Estrada in the early morning hours of Dec. 12, 2011. The officer, who lived in West Babylon with his family, was shot by one of the robbers as he blocked an exit to an area where the suspects were cornered. He died later that morning at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center.
A man beloved by his family, friends and colleagues, Figoski was promoted posthumously to detective and awarded the Medal of Honor from the NYPD.
Four men have been sentenced in Figoski’s death. Two Ozone Park residents, Kevin Santos, 32, and Nelson Morales, 29, received life sentences in June for the officer’s murder, and Ariel Tejada, also of Ozone Park, is serving 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to murder and burglary charges. Lamont Pride, of North Carolina, who shot Figoski in the face as he attempted to flee the scene, is serving 45 years to life after he was convicted in February. Ozone Park resident Michael Velez was acquitted of murder and burglary charges earlier in February.
For those interested in participating in the Cypress Hills race, registration begins at 8 a.m. or register online by going to www.cypresshillscemetery.org. For more information about the event, contact Anthony Desmond at (718) 251-6934 or email anthonydesmond@cypresshillscemetery.org.
By Anna Gustafson
