Printer Friendly Format Email a Friend


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 369-07
October 12, 2007

MAYOR BLOOMBERG AND POLICE COMMISSIONER KELLY HONOR POLICE OFFICERS FRANCIS HENNESSY AND KEVIN LEE AT NEW YORK CITY POLICE MEMORIAL

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and Battery Park City Authority Chairman James Gill today honored fallen Police Officers Francis Hennessy and Kevin Lee at a ceremony at the New York City Police Memorial in Battery Park City.  Their names were inscribed on the memorial wall, along with over seven hundred officers who have given their lives in the line of duty in the Police Department’s history.

“This morning, we honor the memories of two men who embodied such incredible courage and devotion to duty – right up to their final moments,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Whenever I visit this wall of honor, I’m always awed by the service that it memorializes.  It will always remind us of the incredible bravery and devotion to duty that Kevin and Frank demonstrated during their lives.”

“The addition of the names of Officers Francis Hennessy and Kevin Lee to the memorial wall of our fallen heroes reminds us, as does the verdict yesterday in the murder of Officer Dillon Stewart, of the risk and sacrifice made routinely by New York City police officers to keep the public safe and secure,” said Commissioner Kelly.

On January 27, 2006, Police Officer Kevin Lee, 31, while on-duty and attempting to arrest three individuals for grand larceny, collapsed. He was admitted to Lenox Hill Hospital where he later passed away. He was part of a surveillance team that was observing a group of men who stole a laptop from a store on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan. Officer Lee was a 10-year veteran of the NYPD and a member of the Department’s Patrol Borough Manhattan North Grand Larceny Unit. He is survived by his wife and son.

On January 9, 2006, Police Officer Francis Hennessy, 35, responded with two other officers to an emergency call of a man with a gun. Upon arriving at the scene, Officer Hennessy jumped out his car and collapsed. After performing CPR at the scene, his fellow officers rushed him to Kings County Hospital. It was later determined that Officer Hennessy suffered a brain aneurysm. He was an eight year veteran of the Department. He was assigned to Brooklyn’s 70th Precinct, the same precinct that Officer Dillon Stewart had been assigned to. Officer Hennessy was born in Ireland, but had made his home in Brooklyn. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.

The Police Memorial is dedicated to New York City Police Officers killed in the line of duty; the memorial serves as a symbol of their life and death. There are more than 700 names inscribed on its wall.  The design is composed of two distinct parts with water used as a metaphor in both. A fountain and a flume represent the life of a police officer. The death of the police officer is commemorated by two parallel granite walls.







MEDIA CONTACT:


Stu Loeser / Jason Post   (212) 788-2958



GENERAL CONTACT:

Paul Browne   (Police Department)
(646) 610-6700


More Resources