Mayor Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and family members and friends of the six police officers whose names were most recently inscribed on the Police Memorial Wall in Battery Park City gathered last week for a ceremony to honor the city’s bravest. Photos Courtesy NYC Mayor’s Office/Spencer T. Tucker
Six members of the NYPD who died in the line of duty were honored at a ceremony led by Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly at the Police Memorial Wall last week.
During the ceremony, the mayor and commissioner unveiled the names of the six brave individuals, including one who had served in Queens, that have been inscribed on the memorial wall, which is located in Battery Park City.
The names of Detective Alick Herrmann, Detective Fermin Archer, Capt. Dennis Morales, Lt. Christopher Pupo, Sgt. Garrett Danza, and Police Officer Denis McLarney were inscribed on the granite wall. Archer died from injuries he sustained in an on-duty vehicle accident on July 13, 2011, and the five other members succumbed to illnesses contracted during the rescue and recovery efforts following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, left, and Mayor Bloomberg attend a ceremony memorializing six members of the NYPD, including one who served in Queens, who died in the line of duty.
“The Police Memorial Wall bears the names of nearly 800 members of New York’s finest who have given their own lives so that the rest of us may live in peace and safety,” Bloomberg said at the Oct. 11 event. “The greatness of our city is reflected in these names, and they tell the story of New York – its struggles and victories, and its transformation from a capital of violence and crime to the safest big city in America.”
Herrmann, who last served in the 100 Precinct Detective Squad and also had worked in Queens’ 102nd Precinct, died after being diagnosed with mylogenious leukemia, an environmental cnacer contracted as a result of his work on the rescue and recovery from the Sept. 11 attacks. He received a bone marrow transfer in September of 2008 and went into remission for two years, but by 2011 his cancer had returned. He died Dec. 23, 2011 at the age of 49.
As well as serving in the 102nd and 100th precincts’ detective squads, Herrmann served in South Brooklyn’s 75th Precinct, the Brooklyn South East Narcotics Division, Queens North and South Narcotics Divisions, the Auto Crime Division. He joined the NYPD in 1986 and first served in the 75th Precinct.
“I often pass this memorial and admire its quiet and simple dignity, designed to symbolize the life of a police officer from his very first day on the job until the end of his watch,” Kelly said at the ceremony. “This year, we add the names of six outstanding police officers devoted to law enforcement and to New York City, united in a common mission to aid and protect the public. We gather a few blocks from where many spent days on end, 12 years ago. We owe each of them a tremendous debt of gratitude for their many years of exceptional service as members of the Police Department.”
“I often pass this memorial and admire its quiet and simple dignity, designed to symbolize the life of a police officer from his very first day on the job until the end of his watch,” Commissioner Kelly said. “This year, we add the names of six outstanding police officers devoted to law enforcement and to New York City, united in a common mission to aid and protect the public. We gather a few blocks from where many of them spent days on end, twelve years ago. We owe each of them a tremendous debt of gratitude for their many years of exceptional service as members of the Police Department.”
Created in honor of those who lost their lives in the line of duty, the memorial is located at Liberty Street and South End Avenue and was dedicated in October 1997. The memorial has a total of 780 names, including the six recently inscribed. The granite walls includes the names of the officers and the dates they died, and a small fountain and open pool are often referred to as the “Sacred Precinct.”
By Anna Gustafson
