Slain Officer From Greenlawn Remembered
/By Peter Sloggatt & Jano Tantongco
info@longislandergroup.com
A blue line was painted in front of the Tuozzolo residence on Cutting Street in Greenlawn.
A blue line has been painted in the middle of Cutting Street in Greenlawn to pay tribute to NYPD Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo, who lived on the street with his wife and two children ages 3 and 4, and who was killed Friday in a shootout in the Bronx.
Blue ribbons have also been tied around posts, trees and homes throughout Huntington township in remembrance of Tuozzolo, 41.
Danny Clarke, 46, a neighbor, called Tuozzolo a “great family man.” Clarke said he would see Tuozzolo “always with his kids” next door. Clarke first heard the news when he arrived home and saw police officer outside the Tuozzolo residence. They told him what had happened.
“It’s just sad to see his life was taken like that,” said Clarke, a 10-year resident. “A veteran in the force for 19 years, and to see his life end like that, it’s sad, you know.
“Condolences to his family. It’s a lot of pain. It’s tough time for them, but I hope they’ll be strong and get through it.”
Blue ribbons hang from the fence of a Manor Road residence in remembrance of slain NYPD Officer Paul Tuozzolo. Similar ribbons can be found hanging throughout the Town of Huntington.
Anne Vikingstad has lived onCutting Street since 1955. She didn’t know Tuozzolo personally, but she remembered his two young children playing in the neighborhood. She said she knocked on their door to speak with the family and hoped to help however she can.
Vikingstad, 82, said her grandson, Eric Breitfeld, was one of hundreds who mourned Tuozzolo at Chapey & Sons Funeral Home in Bethpage on Wednesday. A funeral Mass is scheduled for 11 a.m. today (Thursday) at St. Rose of Lima in Massapequa.
Little more than a day after he was killed in a shootout in the Bronx, Tuozzolo was mourned in Huntington village, where a candlelight vigil was held in front of The Paramount theater.
A crowd of several hundred gathered in Huntington village Saturday for a vigil to honor slain NYPD Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo of Greenlawn, and to show solidarity with the law enforcement community.
The vigil, arranged quickly through the efforts of the town and Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce, was put together to show respect and gratitude to Tuozzolo, and to show solidarity with the law enforcement community. Presiding over the ceremonies, Chamber vice chair Brian Yudewitz introduced elected officials and community leaders from throughout the town.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and Police Commissioner Tim Sini at the vigil in Huntington Village.
The event drew a crowd of several hundred in front of The Paramount, whose three-sided marquee displayed a thin blue line between two black stripes, the solemn symbol of law enforcement.
“The thin blue line has become a very, very relevant symbol,” said Suffolk Police Commissioner Tim Sini.
Law enforcement, community leaders and elected officials gathered beneath the thin blue line displayed on The Paramount’s marquee to lead a vigil for NYPD Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo who was killed Friday responding to a domestic dispute in the Bronx.
The police commissioner explained the symbolism: “The blue stripe represents law enforcement; the black above it represents the communities they are tasked to serve; and the bottom represents the criminals,” he said. “The thin blue line is what stands between them.”
Sgt. Ed Mullins, president of the NYPD Policemen’s Benevolent Association, called Tuozzolo a “very calm, level-headed leader” who was assigned to the 43rd Precinct, one of the department’s busiest precincts.
“He did what he had to do,” said Mullins. “Unfortunately, what we’re seeing is police officers across the country” attacked on a daily basis. And Tuozzolo paid the ultimate price.
Mullins described Tuozzolo as a “family-oriented man, who leaves behind two children, ages 3 and 4.” For them, it means “Thanksgiving with no dad at the table,” and a lifetime of occasions for which their father will not be there.
“We have to unite to take back the streets,” Mullins said.
That starts one community at a time, noted Huntington Supervisor Frank Petrone.
“Huntington is a community that is noted for coming together,” Petrone said. “It is a community noted for its vast diversity. And it is a community noted for wanting law and order.”
He called on the crowd to show respect and gratitude for the police officers they encounter.
“They’re your neighbors. They’re your relatives,” Petrone said. “We owe them our support by standing up and saying we respect them, and we owe them our gratitude.”
If it was a call to action, the movement is already underway, evidenced by the blue ribbons displayed in storefronts and restaurants along New York Avenue.
A moment of silence is observed during a vigil to Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo.
In a measure of gratitude to Tuozzolo family, the Det. Lt. Joseph Petrosino Association in America will make a $1,000 contribution to a fund established for the fallen officer’s family.
The association, which honors the memory of a New York City detective assassinated by the Black Hand in 1909, “is saddened by the death of Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo,” said Bob Fonti, president of the association. “The Petrosino Association will continue to support those officers that serve the city, state and county.”
A moment of silence and invocation led by Suffolk Legislator William R. “Doc” Spencer (D-Centerport), an ordained minister, closed the ceremony. Spencer called on the crowd to join hands to form a human chain and bow their heads for a moment of silence in remembrance of Tuozzolo.
