Transcript: Mayor de Blasio, Commissioner O'Neill Deliver Remarks at Funeral of NYPD Detective Brian Mulkeen

October 4, 2019

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Thank you, Cardinal. We are all blessed by your presence. And to all the clergy, thank you. We all heard the beautiful words of Monsignor Romano – and he spoke about the power of memory, memories that we cherish of those we love. And he’s right, that’s something we’ll talk about today. But I want to say we are all feeling, also, so much pain today. We’ve all come to know what a good young man we lost, what a hero, and it hurts. It hurts all of us and we know we are laying to rest a hero. It’s something we will all carry with us going forward. We came to know his greatness. For so many of us, we only came to know that greatness and we would never see him again.

He – Brian represented the best of us, devoted to his family, devoted to his friends, devoted to his brothers and sisters in blue. And as we’ve all come to know in these last days – we’ve heard some things over and over. One of the most common statements that those who knew and loved Brian said was that if you met Brian, you fell in love instantly. He was that kind of person. The good in him was so clear, so strong. It’s something we all know that he was taken far too soon. 33 years old. But what a 33 years it was.

Here is a man who lived life to the fullest in every sense and gave so much to everyone around him. We are gathered here out of our love and our support, our need to support, our desire to support this good family. And I can tell you if you spend a few minutes with this family you understand Brian’s greatness instantly. Our hearts are with his parents, Camile and Brian; his sister, Erin; his brother, Eric; his grandpa, Charles, who was an inspiration to him in so many ways. This beautiful family filled with love, we grieve with all of us, we grieve with Brian’s girlfriend, Officer Sherry Hodge of the 4-4 Precinct.

It doesn’t make it any easier to say that you understand why Brian did what he did, what he believed in, what he cared for. It doesn’t bring him back to say that but it does honor him to recognize what he devoted his life to. And we grieve today with the entire NYPD family especially the members of the 4-7 and 4-8 Precincts and the Bronx Anti-Crime Unit. There are so many striking things about Brian but one that became clear to me so quickly was here was a young man who could have written his own ticket in life in any way he wanted – so filled with ability and promise.

And I think many people here know that first he went down a – what we might call a more conventional path. He graduated from Fordham’s business program. He went to a job at Merrill Lynch. He was going to succeed, he was going to be someone who would never have to worry about material things, but something else called to him. It turns out it was something he had been feeling much of his life but it became clear even in his early 20s that he knew something else was more important to him. And he had one of those moments of clarity that changed his life even at that young age and he asked himself what does success mean? He asked himself, how can I make a difference?

It was clear to Brian that his mission was to protect and serve others, to do something brave, to do something courageous. Many times in life, people will reach that kind of cross roads and think about what the right thing to do – what’s so striking is that Brian not only thought about it, he did it and he did it in a way that expressed all of the good in him. He could have taken an easier path. That wasn’t Brian. He wanted to be at the frontline. He wanted to protect people. He wanted to do the job that was dangerous because that’s how other people’s lives were protected and saved.

And he chose to leave that very comfortable life and he joined the NYPD and we will be forever grateful for that decision because in over six years on this force, he handled some of the toughest assignments there were and he did it because he knew how important it was. Even the night before the tragedy of his loss, Brian made an arrest in the same precinct – got a gun off the street, protected the men and women of that community. He was extraordinary.

He was extraordinary not only for his work as a police officer and a guardian, he was extraordinary because he understood that his work required his whole heart and all the compassion that was in him – and again, everyone who talks about him, talks about that compassion. There was one story you might have seen about a teenager that Brian arrested two years ago. And that could have been the end of the story. Brian did his job, justice was served but Brian felt there was more to do so he checked in with the family of this teenager frequently and he invited the young man to play basketball with him and undoubtedly changed the direction of that young man’s life.

And we’ve heard that when this teenager and his mom saw the news of Brian’s death, they were devastated as if they had lost a family member too. Think about what that says about Brian – someone he arrested came to see Brian as a role model and felt his loss so deeply. That’s who Brian was. We’re all in pain and it’s a reminder of what every single one of our officers face every day when they go on our streets. This good young man is gone. It’s a reminder of the dangers that the brave women and men of our force face every day. But we should count our blessings in this city that every day they come forward, they put their lives on the line, and they save the lives of others just as Brian did in those final moments.

Our job now is to remember Brian. Our job is to live like Brian. Our job is to be there for all the men and women of this department to do what Brian would do, to show love and compassion and strength. He was a blessing to all of us. Let us remember that in all we do. Let us always be there for the Mulkeen family and let them know that they will have our love for all their lives.

Thank you all for being here and God bless you all.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan: I invite the Police Commissioner, the Honorable James O’Neill to please come up.

Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill: Your eminence Cardinal Dolan, Monsignor Romano, Rabbi Kass, and all the members of the NYPD Chaplain’s Unit, Father Ryder and the entire staff and congregation of the Church of the Sacred Heart, thank you for being here and for hosting us in the beautiful house of worship as we remember our fallen brother and continue to build our community of hope. Thank you to the many elected officials who are here, community leaders, and the clergy who are aiding us in our time of grief. And thank you especially to the many police officers supporting us from around the region, the nation, and the world – thousands of whom are in formation outside this church lining the streets on this crisp, fall morning. To Brian’s parents, Camile and Brian his sister Erin, his brother Eric, and Sherry, Brian’s partner in life and vocation, on behalf of all the men and women of the New York City Police Department, I extend to you my most profound condolences.

In the very early hours of last Sunday, the NYPD sent Officer Brian Mulkeen out to do a job. It’s a job that he had already done exceptionally well for seven years, battling against a flood of illegal firearms and violent gang activity that plagues too many of our neighborhoods. It’s a stresses, hazardous, and unfortunately many times, thankless job. One that not many people are able or willing to do, but thankfully for the people of the Bronx, Brian was willing. He was great at it. As a borough anti-crime cop, it was Brian’s job to get illegal guns off the street. It was his job to pursue the most violent, most dangerous criminals in New York City. To put his safety on the line each and every day and ultimately to make all the people in the Bronx safer, it takes tremendous amount of courage and skill to do the work Brian and his team were so adept at doing. The type of courage you really don’t expect people to possess, much less to display every single day and night. Most ordinary people when faced with a life threatening situation would have an instinctual reaction to run away. Self-preservation is at the very core of human psychology, but Brian was anything but ordinary.

What he accomplished in his short time on the job at just 33-years-old, regularly taking loaded guns off the street and locking up societies main drivers of violence and disorder, is nothing short of extraordinary. So when you have someone like Brian whose job it is to protect others, by actively seeking out dangerous situations and dealing with violent threats head on, it’s a special thing and Brian was a special person. That’s why when the neighborhood in and around the Edenwald Houses in the Bronx was beset by gang and crew violence, and multiple calls of shots fired, Brian and his partners went to work. We sent them there because the people in that neighborhood needed their help, they needed to feel safe, they deserved to live their lives without fear for themselves and their families. So they turned to the NYPD and they asked cops like Brian to protect them. That’s exactly what Brian did. He did his job and he didn’t think twice about it, he didn’t hesitate because he was a cop. Cops are special people.

When we look at Brian’s life, a phenomenal one sacrificed and serviced to the people of our great city, we’re seeing an unwavering dedication to the community. We see a man who made a conscious decision to leave a good job in order to put the lives of others above his own. We see a committed public servant, a cop, a son, a friend. He was a person who cared deeply for complete strangers, even those he had arrested because that was his calling. We see a police department and city in unimaginable pain because that person has been taken from us. Officer Brian Mulkeen is gone but he will never be forgotten because as long as the NYPD exists, we will forever honor him every day by continuing the work he died doing. Like Brian did, we’ve vowed always stand against fear, violence, and anyone who dares to threaten us. We vow to be relentless in our pursuit of the gangs and crews who traffic in this violence and fear, and we vow to work tirelessly against the scourge of illegal guns on our streets. Like Brian did, we will comfort the frightened, we will empower the week, and we will protect the vulnerable. That was Brian’s job, and it’s our job every day, but first, on this day, we have another job.

We are here to honor our hero and to comfort a family, a department, and a city, a state, a nation in mourning. We’re here to begin the process to process our pain, and to cope with our frustration. We’re here to celebrate the life of an absolutely remarkable man. As Police Commissioner, this is the hardest thing I have to do. I’ve done it too many times. Paul Tuozzolo, Steven McDonald, Miosotis Familia, Brian Simonsen, and now Brian Mulkeen, these are the names I repeat to myself every day. These are the families I wish I’ve never met, certainly under these circumstances. They are now as close to me as my own family. These are the cops who say goodbye to their loved ones the way out the door and never came home. They went out to do a job that New Yorkers needed them to do. They led lives of significance, they made a difference. Went out to fight crime and keep people safe. That’s what we asked of them and they made it their life’s mission until the end. The question is then, why do cops do it? And the shorter answer is who else will? No one.

That’s why we will all be back again and again to honor them and to pay tribute to their sacrifice, to celebrate the exceptional lives they’ve led. In Brian’s case, it certainly was an exceptional life. Brian was driven by purpose, whether it was time – his time working on Wall Street or before his time at Fordham, where he soon set to return as a volunteer coach, when he excitedly decided to make the leap to policing, that purpose was renewed. Saying goodbye to one of our most noble protectors will never get easy. We are consoled by the fact that we never do this alone. All of us are here for Brian, for his family, and for his fellow cops. We will always be here for them together. It makes our police family so special, because it’s made up of so many special people like Brian.

Hundreds are within the walls of this great church today, thousands more in blue are lined up for miles outside, and we’re here together, showing a different kind of courage. One that’s needed when you feel angry, frustrated, or discouraged, or when you just can’t figure out why. Even at your lowest point, you keep moving forward, because that’s what Brian would do. Our profession was around long before Brian became a cop in 2013, even long before his grandfather, Detective Charles Pompa joined the NYPD in 1954. By the way, retired in 1979 and did another 24-and-a-half years with the State Police – can’t believe that.

[Laughter]

Don’t know if you shook his hand, did you shake his hand at the funeral home yesterday? My hand still hurts and he’s 89. God bless you.

The policing profession will continue, long after every one of us that is here today is gone. It’s the type of work that Brian decided he must do and he was infinitely proud to do it, and his legacy will continue to grow each day, starting right here and now as Police Officer Brian Mulkeen to Detective First Grade.

[Applause]

Camile, Brian, Erin, Eric, Sherry, and to all of Brian’s loved ones, your NYPD family and every member of our department will always be here for you. We know there’s nothing we can say or do that will ever ease the pain and sadness you feel today, that will never stop us from being by your side whenever and wherever you need us. And to the members of the Bronx Anti-Crime team, everyone who worked with or knew Brian, we’ll always be here for you too. As every cop knows, one person is responsible for Brian’s death, and that’s the person carrying a loaded and illegal gun that decided to run from the police. Every cop knows that and every New Yorker should know that.

His loss left a hole that will never be completely filled but you won’t let his incredible efforts die with him. Because the way to keep Brian a part of you forever is to continue what he started, we honor his memory where we pick up where Brian left off. There’s no greater tribute to his life, his service, or his calling, Brian set the example for you. For all of us, our job now is to follow it as best we can. All of this is going to take courage, but we can take some of that courage from Brian because he certainly had enough to go around. May God bless Detective Brian Mulkeen, may he live on the hearts and good deeds of all who knew him, and may God bless and protect every member of the New York City Police Department and law enforcement around the nation will forever now carry on his most important work.

Thank you.