info
Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss
Steven McDonald NYPD, 59, hero police officer (1986 incident)
22 views
Skip to first unread message
That Derek
Jan 10, 2017, 2:04:12 PM1/10/17
to
http://nypost.com/2017/01/10/paralyzed-nypd-hero-steven-mcdonald-dies-at-59/
Metro
Paralyzed NYPD hero Steven McDonald dies at 59
=By Tina Moore, Larry Celona, Shawn Cohen, Mary Kay Linge and Bruce Golding
January 10, 2017 | 1:23pm | Updated
Hero NYPD cop Steven McDonald — who famously forgave the cowardly teenage gunman who left him paralyzed from the neck down 30 years ago — died Tuesday at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, Long Island. He was 59.
McDonald had been on life support since mucus clogged his respirator, sending him into cardiac arrest, on Friday.
Family members and fellow cops, including former NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, had been keeping vigil by his side.
“Steven was an exceptional human being who should not be defined by the shooting that paralyzed him, but by what he accomplished in life after it happened,” said Michael Palladino, president of the NYPD detectives union.
A third-generation cop, McDonald remained on active duty following his devastating injury, serving as a goodwill ambassador for the NYPD who attended events, gave speeches and counseled troubled kids.
He traveled to war-torn regions including the Middle East, Northern Ireland and Bosnia, and met with the late Pope John Paul II and Nelson Mandela.
McDonald was also the first person in wheelchair to march in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and in 1991 threatened a boycott unless organizers let other people with disabilities also join the procession.
McDonald was working an undercover patrol in Central Park, investigating a rash of bicycle robberies, when he chased down three suspects near the iconic boathouse on July 12, 1986.
One of the youths turned away from McDonald, pulled out a “Saturday night special” revolver and blasted the plainclothes cop with three .22-caliber rounds.
One bullet hit McDonald in the left side of his neck, shattering into fragments that lodged in his spinal column.
McDonald’s wife, Patti Ann McDonald — mayor of Malverne, Long Island, since 2007 — was pregnant at the time with their only child, a son they named Conor.
The shooter, 15-year-old Shavod Jones, was convicted by a jury that deliberated less than two hours and was sentenced to 3-1/3-to-10 years in the slammer, the maximum for a juvenile offender.
McDonald was left a quadriplegic, unable to breathe on his own, but publicly forgave the cold-blooded teen eight months after the shooting from his bed at Bellevue Hospital.
“I feel sorry for him,” McDonald said. “I forgive him and hope that he can find peace and purpose in his life.”
McDonald also expressed the hope he could help rehabilitated Jones so could eventually give inspirational talks together.
Jones, however, was far from a model prisoner and was denied parole three times. He wound up spending eight and half years behind bars, with much of it in solitary confinement.
Jones got sprung in 1995, but died just three days later, from head injuries suffered while riding on the back of a speeding motorcycle whose driver lost control while and hit two parked cars while illegally popping wheelies in East Harlem.
One of the parked cars held a cop who was part of a special unit team keeping tabs on Jones, and who suffered minor injuries in the crash.
At the time, a pal of McDonald’s said he had been hoping to speak with Jones following his release, but “never got the opportunity.”
McDonald’s first assignment when he went back to work in January 1988 was giving a lecture to a new group of Emergency Service officers.
“I still have 17 years to go before retirement,” he joked at the time.
He was promoted to detective in 1995.
Son Conor followed him into the NYPD in 2010, and was given former Commissioner Kelly’s old badge, number 15978.
Conor was promoted to detective in September and again to sergeant in December.
In addition to his wife and son, McDonald is survived by his father, David McDonald, and several brothers and sisters.
Metro
Paralyzed NYPD hero Steven McDonald dies at 59
=By Tina Moore, Larry Celona, Shawn Cohen, Mary Kay Linge and Bruce Golding
January 10, 2017 | 1:23pm | Updated
Hero NYPD cop Steven McDonald — who famously forgave the cowardly teenage gunman who left him paralyzed from the neck down 30 years ago — died Tuesday at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, Long Island. He was 59.
McDonald had been on life support since mucus clogged his respirator, sending him into cardiac arrest, on Friday.
Family members and fellow cops, including former NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, had been keeping vigil by his side.
“Steven was an exceptional human being who should not be defined by the shooting that paralyzed him, but by what he accomplished in life after it happened,” said Michael Palladino, president of the NYPD detectives union.
A third-generation cop, McDonald remained on active duty following his devastating injury, serving as a goodwill ambassador for the NYPD who attended events, gave speeches and counseled troubled kids.
He traveled to war-torn regions including the Middle East, Northern Ireland and Bosnia, and met with the late Pope John Paul II and Nelson Mandela.
McDonald was also the first person in wheelchair to march in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and in 1991 threatened a boycott unless organizers let other people with disabilities also join the procession.
McDonald was working an undercover patrol in Central Park, investigating a rash of bicycle robberies, when he chased down three suspects near the iconic boathouse on July 12, 1986.
One of the youths turned away from McDonald, pulled out a “Saturday night special” revolver and blasted the plainclothes cop with three .22-caliber rounds.
One bullet hit McDonald in the left side of his neck, shattering into fragments that lodged in his spinal column.
McDonald’s wife, Patti Ann McDonald — mayor of Malverne, Long Island, since 2007 — was pregnant at the time with their only child, a son they named Conor.
The shooter, 15-year-old Shavod Jones, was convicted by a jury that deliberated less than two hours and was sentenced to 3-1/3-to-10 years in the slammer, the maximum for a juvenile offender.
McDonald was left a quadriplegic, unable to breathe on his own, but publicly forgave the cold-blooded teen eight months after the shooting from his bed at Bellevue Hospital.
“I feel sorry for him,” McDonald said. “I forgive him and hope that he can find peace and purpose in his life.”
McDonald also expressed the hope he could help rehabilitated Jones so could eventually give inspirational talks together.
Jones, however, was far from a model prisoner and was denied parole three times. He wound up spending eight and half years behind bars, with much of it in solitary confinement.
Jones got sprung in 1995, but died just three days later, from head injuries suffered while riding on the back of a speeding motorcycle whose driver lost control while and hit two parked cars while illegally popping wheelies in East Harlem.
One of the parked cars held a cop who was part of a special unit team keeping tabs on Jones, and who suffered minor injuries in the crash.
At the time, a pal of McDonald’s said he had been hoping to speak with Jones following his release, but “never got the opportunity.”
McDonald’s first assignment when he went back to work in January 1988 was giving a lecture to a new group of Emergency Service officers.
“I still have 17 years to go before retirement,” he joked at the time.
He was promoted to detective in 1995.
Son Conor followed him into the NYPD in 2010, and was given former Commissioner Kelly’s old badge, number 15978.
Conor was promoted to detective in September and again to sergeant in December.
In addition to his wife and son, McDonald is survived by his father, David McDonald, and several brothers and sisters.
A Friend
Jan 10, 2017, 4:13:42 PM1/10/17
to
In article <69a7f7de-55ec-47a1...@googlegroups.com>,
That Derek <that...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> McDonald was also the first person in wheelchair to march in the St.
> Patrick零 Day Parade, and in 1991 threatened a boycott unless organizers let
> McDonald was also the first person in wheelchair to march in the St.
> other people with disabilities also join the procession.
That, right there, is heroic. Good for him. RIP.
0 new messages