By Michael V. Cusenza
The City Police Department and Jamaica community leaders on Wednesday solemnly marked the 37th anniversary of the murder of rookie cop Eddie Byrne with a memorial service at the site of the assassination.
Byrne, just seven months out of the academy and assigned to the 103rd Precinct, was summarily executed on Feb. 26, 1988 as he sat in his marked radio motor patrol car at 107th Avenue and Inwood Street, guarding the home of a critical witness in a major drug case against gangster Howard “Pappy” Mason. The home of the witness had already been firebombed to discourage him from testifying against Mason in open court.
Photo Courtesy of NYPD
Byrne was killed as he sat in his marked radio motor patrol car at 107th Avenue and Inwood Street in Jamaica.
Byrne had just celebrated his 22nd birthday on Feb. 21.
“Eddie’s murder shook our department, devasted our city, and inspired a nationwide movement against drug trafficking,” City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. “We gathered early [Wednesday] morning to honor his legacy at his home precinct and renew our vow to never forget his sacrifice.”
In 2023, Scott Cobb, one of the four men convicted of the murder, was granted parole after spending more than 30 years in prison.
Last year, Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said the killing “galvanized cops and the community to work together to take our streets back from these violent drug gangs. That was Eddie Byrne’s legacy, and the insane Parole Board is tearing it to shreds. New York City police officers are absolutely sickened by this parole decision, and New Yorkers who care about safe streets should be, too. We need you to speak up and demand that our elected leaders in Albany fix the broken parole system so that none of the other Byrne assassins go free.”
